Bhubaneswar/Kendrapara: The tell-tale signs of imminent cyclone were evident everywhere in Khasmunda village in Talachua Circle of Kendrapara district when a frail Sibani Mandal was running helter-skelter around the village. She was seen talking to the old and infirm women who had resigned to their fate to face the cyclone by staying in their thatched houses even if that meant they could lose their lives.
But ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) Sibani, 42, was resolute in her decision to relocate the women, all of seven, to move to the cyclone shelter nearby. She succeeded in convincing them. Not only did she arrange their relocation, she also carried one of them, piggybacking her all the way till the shelter. Today, after the cyclone has passed, Sibani seems relieved and so are the women.
For this dedication and service, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, in his review of the cyclone aftermath on Friday showered praises on Sibani.
Unaware that the CM had spoken about her work, she was consistently attending to emergency phone calls besides looking after the needs of people at the shelter when ETV Bharat team approached her. "I have done my duty as an ASHA and also for the sake of humanity. I consider the village as my family. Accordingly, I decided that I cannot leave a single member of my family back in the village when there is danger to life," says Sibani, who hails from the same village.
As ASHA since 2006 at Rajnagar Group Health Center, Sibani has been performing her duties with utmost sincerity and people in the periphery villages vouch for her sincerity. They trust her in times of emergency. "Even during Fani cyclone, I had made sure that none in the village is in trouble. I have been relentlessly doing my job. Be it for health emergency or any other issue under my jurisdiction, I attend to it immediately," says she.
On Friday afternoon, Majhi called up Sibani and thanked her for her exemplary service during the recent cyclone. “The government and I personally are very pleased with your work. May Lord Jagannath bless you.” Recognizing that she does not have a house, the CM directed Rajnagar administration officials to provide her with immediate housing assistance and promised further necessary support.
One of the seven women Sibani rescued and relocated to cyclone shelters says, "Sibani ASHA didi saved me, else I would have died. My kutcha house is in a dilapidated state but I did not have the courage to leave my house. She convinced me." Among those who Sibani saved include a new mother who had given birth a day back, another whose son was out of village. Some other lived in unsafe rickety houses that could give in with slight wind. "When I take responsibility of someone, I make sure they are not deprived of basic needs," Sibani quips.
She took help of some villagers to shift the women to safety. However, she piggybacked one woman because time was less and it was getting darker. "Had I waited for someone to help, it would have been late," says Sibani. Ask her what reward she gets for the work she does and she gets emotional. "I do not work for money. I work because I get drawn to my own people. I cannot see anyone suffer. It is not a job for me, it is a calling," says she.
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