Tezpur, Jan. 25: When Madan Pegu heard the screams of women and children from the Brahmaputra, he ran towards the river and saw a terrifying scene: around 100 metres from the bank, women and children were battling to stay afloat after the country boat they were travelling in capsized after hitting a stranded ferry.
It was around 2 pm on January 13, a day before Magh Bihu, the festival of feast in Assam. The country boat with 12 passengers - nine women and three children - was returning from a sandbar, like many others, from a picnic.
The Brahmaputra was cold and flowing with a strong undercurrent. "It was very difficult to take an immediate decision in such a situation. The river is so big and its current so strong. But screams of the women and children made me forget about my own danger. I jumped into the river without thinking. Now I feel happy that I could save two women. It is like a dream," said Pegu.
Like Pegu, two other youths, Prodip Sahani and Rajib Sahani, also jumped into the river unhesitatingly. Prodip rescued seven passengers and Rajib one. The trio live in the Hanuman Mandir area in the town.
Recognising their bravery, Sonitpur Journalist Union today felicitated them. However, Rajib was busy and could not attend the programme.
While 10 of the passengers, including one child, were rescued by the three youths, two children of a family went missing. People found their decomposed bodies six days later in the same spot where the boat had capsized.
By the time the youths rescued 10 passengers personnel from State Disaster Response Force arrived at the spot and asked them to leave. The disaster team then looked for the two children but in vain. The youths today said had they not been prevented by SDRF personnel, they may have rescued the two children too.
Pegu originally hails from Jorhat in upper Assam but works here as a boatman.
After felicitating the youths, secretary of Sonitpur Journalist Union Manoj Kumar Saikia said "We invited the three youths to a felicitation ceremony. But Rajib Sahani could not come. It was great job by them that without thinking about their own lives the trio rescued ten boat passengers."
