SSB men pool money for ailing man in Assam's border village

Guwahati, June 24: In a heartwarming gesture, troops of border guarding force SSB helped save the life of a villager living along the Indo-Bhutan frontier in Assam and pooled money for his treatment.

Officials said the incident was reported from the Sashipur border out post (BOP) of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in Chirang district early yesterday when a local woman approached the paramilitary unit seeking help from them as her husband was seriously ill and required immediate medical assistance.

They said the SSB post in-charge, Sub-inspector Sunil Kumar, immediately talked to his troops about the woman's distress and some jawans deployed in the area for long told him that the her husband, identified as K Narzary (52) of Palau Sonapur village, is known to them for quite some time and that they should provide her all help.

Soon after, officials said, the SSB unit relayed a wireless communication and called an Assam government ambulance available about 8-kms away in Amteka village and in the meantime pooled Rs 11,000 which was handed over to the woman for possible medical expenses.

They said soon after Narzary was shifted to a hospital in Bongaigaon in lower Assam, even as some locals assisted her in the ambulance journey.

Officials said the village and the BOP is located in a far-flung area in the state along the International Border (IB) between India and Bhutan. SSB troops of 16th battalion are deployed in the area for border guarding tasks. The force is mandated to secure the 699 km IB with Bhutan and is deployed extensively in Assam.

PTI