Would you believe it if I told you about a man who fought with crocodiles, that too live and caught them with his own two bare hands? Would you believe if I told you there was a man who has saved a rough approximate of 1650 lives from drowning within a span of 13 years, with no help from anyone? Would you believe, if I told you that it’s the same man who does both of these feats, that too just for his peace of mind?
Surprised much? There’s more.
I’m talking about Haryana’s local Hero, Pargat Singh.
Who is Pargat Singh?
Pargat Singh, real name- Richpal Singh is a resident of Kurukshetra, Haryana, India. A dairy farmer by profession, Pargat owns 10 cows and supports a family of five with his earnings through dairy alone. He is married and has three daughters.
“Haryana da Hero”: The Savior of the Common Masses
For the last 13 years, Pargat has been risking his own life to save other’s. He is a diver, a ‘gotakhor’. He dives into the deep and dangerous water bodies of the North Indian state of Haryana, and fetches dead bodies of people and saves drowning people. He has battled with all sorts of dangerous animals and put his own life at danger thinking about the safety of other people. Over the years of his work, he has retrieved almost 11,802 bodies and saved 1650 people from drowning in the waters of Haryana and Punjab.
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What is even more shocking and respectful about him is that he hasn’t charged a single penny till date for any of his service. This is such a difficult and dangerous work and professional divers charge a sum upto 5 lakhs for picking up bodies from the lakes and deep water bodies. But Pargat Singh does it all for free as he doesn’t want to charge people for the bodies of their lost loved ones. He also trains other people to be divers so that they can carry on the chain of this good work alongside him, and more lives can be saved from death due to drowning.
“Last year, three people from Punjab drowned in the canal and the private divers asked for Rs 5 lakh to take the bodies out. I did that for free just because I don’t want to charge people for the bodies of their loved ones they lost” Pargat Singh says.
Hero in Dire Need of Help, Lies in a hospital Bed
Pargat is one of those people who always puts the greater good of everyone before his own needs. These people selflessly devote their life to years of continuous service for the common people and they are hailed as heroes all over the place. They are put on a pedestal and respected for their good deeds, but when they are in difficult times, in need of others support, no one seems to stand up for them. Exactly what seems to be happening in case of Mr. Pargat.
On 23rd October, Pargat and his wife were returning home from Pargat’s in-laws house, when they met with an unfortunate road accident. A speeding car hit the motorcycle he was riding and then fled from the scene. They were both severely injured and were admitted to the Apna hospital in his hometown. Singh is in an urgent need for money, but no help came for him from the administration.
“When they have to take out any dead body out of the canal or pond, they always call me and I always oblige. But today, I need their help and no one has even come to ask for my well-being. This makes me really sad,” said Pargat Singh lying in the hospital bed.
TOI did a story on him on 29th October where it quoted that the District Collector and the DSP of the district had assured him help after getting news of the matter, but as of now, no help has been given.
“I have read about the man and his service of diving in newspapers and but have never met him personally as I have joined the post only from last six-eight months,” was what the Deputy commissioner (DC) Dr. Satyavir Singh Phulia said when asked about Pargat’s accident case.
He even said at the moment that he did not have any information about him being injured and would look into the matter. Kurukshetra’s Deputy Superintendent of Police Gurmail Singh acknowledged that Pargat had been active from the past 12-13 years in the area and he always helped the people and police whenever they needed his service, that too without any charges. He visited him in the hospital and provided him personally with some assistance. He assures to continue to ask him about his whereabouts and urges the administration to provide a helping hand to Pargat who has been helping humanity since so many years.
Forgotten by the Government, but People come out to help Pargat
The government might have forgotten about him and neglected all his work, but the people of the district remember and have come out to help him as much as they can. As the word of his accident spread, through media and friends, he has been getting a lot of phone calls and people have also come up with monetary help.
“I am sad that the administration didn’t come to help, but I am thankful to people for their generosity and love.” added Pargat.
Honored and Yet in need of help
Singh has been doing this work over a time span of 13 years. He has received no formal training of any sort and says he is very careful while doing the task of catching crocodiles. He has caught 8 crocodiles alive and been honored more than 275 times by the administration as well as other organizations. But scanty honours and recognition is of no help to a man in want of true support in times of need.
He has received several muscle injuries and his wife’s legs have got two fractures as well. They’d been lying in the hospital for two weeks almost and still no one from the administration came to see them in the hospital. He is resident of the Dabkheri village in Kurukshetra.
Due to the goodwill and thoughtfulness of one man, so much of good work has been carried out. So many precious lives have been saved and a thousand others been protected from the attack of crocodiles. So many people got to do the last rituals of their loved ones, in peace and got the bodies taken out of the river without having to pay even a single penny.
Pargat Singh is the reason behind all of this. He has always come up for helping people in any way he could. Now, that he is in a difficult situation, isn’t it important that he should receive as much help as he could. Administration as well as more of the common people should come forward and provide Pargat with all the assistance needed. It will only be a meager return in comparison to the service that he has done for all the people since all these years.
He is one man whose life story motivates us to do good work for the society and never ask for anything in return. The world needs more selfless people like him and we need more inspiring stories such as this. So if you liked the story and connected to his situation, do share it with all your friends and family.
Sources: timesofindia | indiatimes |sbs.com