FLOODS always bring back memories of my first independent mission as Second Lieutenant in 1977. Even though I have participated in bigger and more complex flood relief operations, this one lingers in the fauji memory. The mission was launched in response to a distress call from the district administration for rescuing marooned villagers in Jansui, Jansua, Mattedi, Jattan and other villages in proximity to the Narwana branch in Ambala district. We had conducted flood relief drills in the pre-monsoon period with a study of the Ghaggar, Tangri and Markanda flood plains. Our column was picked probably because we had organised a training class for a regiment.
I was summoned by my Squadron Commander and told that it was time to put theory into practice. He asked us to leave posthaste. Our column of 60-odd was joined by 25 Sappers with boats and technical equipment. The only catch was that our Column Commander, Lt Manbir Hundal, was to join later as he was in Patiala, playing the final of a hockey tournament. That gave me 24-odd hours of being the boss or ‘Tiger’. It was a great elevation for me as subalterns are not only addressed as ‘Mr’, but also treated as troopers.
Standard operating procedures had been devised, but like the good old saying by Field Marshal Moltke, ‘No plans survive first contact with the enemy.’ Here it was a vast river in spate, challenging us. The first requirement was to select a safe high ground and set up basic shelter and hygiene arrangements. The next was to run ferry boats to get people and livestock out. The most challenging task was to convince people sitting on rooftops to leave the place. Most of them were old folk and some just didn’t leave their houses despite water raging all around them. It was heart-warming to see troops braving multiple challenges to save the civilian population.
With these villages having a sizeable Sikh and Punjabi population, langar was organised and sewa volunteers were in abundance. We had to just guide them. My first independent command finished with the arrival of Lt Hundal.
The topography and run-offs were such that water had collected dangerously on one side of the canal bank and could only be drained on the other side. This entailed breaking an embankment to inundate the other side. Being a local, the SDM, who was on his first posting, was hesitant to proceed either way.
Lt Hundal devised a plan and took the SDM on a reconnaissance. On the quiet, he had tasked us to prepare the demolition charges and do the needful in his absence. Needless to say, clear orders are complied with. The next morning, the local minister arrived to compliment us. He announced cash rewards for our column, handing over a bag which, in keeping with our traditions, we politely did not accept.