Despite tension, woman travels 17 kms daily to treat patients near Indo-Pak border

Amritsar: Rising tensions between India and Pakistan have been followed by heated arguments on the social media and charged debates on the news as another terrorist attack in Baramulla comes at a time many are praying for peace.

As border skirmishes are being reported, those living near the volatile Indo-Pak border are facing a threat as they have been facing every time relations between the two countries run into trouble.

As warmongering is on the rise in the region, thousands near the border in Punjab have been forced to uproot their lives and move away from their homes in a high risk area, but some people are making sure that they keep serving the people no matter what the situation is like.

40-year-old Sarabjit Kaur from Naushera Dhalla village near Amritsar travels 17 kms on her scooter every day to open a dispensary located hardly 200 metres from the India-Pakistan border, to treat patients in the troubled area.

A widow, Sarabjit is a mother of three and lives with her 60-year-old mother. She treats around 30 patients a day without fail, although she has been helping around 10 patients a day after tensions forced most residents to flee.

She hasn’t received any victims of bullet injuries or shelling yet, but says she will call an ambulance is needed. Sarabjit is working tirelessly even as the district administration extended her working hours from 6 to 10, cancelled weekly offs and asked her to be prepared for night duty.

While a lot of people in the area have fled, the family is also looking after their belongings and houses since the area is prone to thefts. The family had also faced similar times during the Kargil war and had refused to vacate despite a war raging on.

In a time when the region is gripped by a war like situation with war cries being raised with little thought for consequences villages near the frontline may face, this doctor is silently doing her duty in the line of fire.