When heavy rains battered the village of Malleyan in Punjab’s Moga district, a five-foot gap opened in the only road connecting the village to neighboring Rasulpur, with fast-flowing, waist-deep water rushing through the dangerous break. Thirty-five schoolchildren found themselves stranded on the far side after an early school holiday was announced, unable to cross the treacherous gap safely. Word of the crisis spread quickly through the village, particularly via the local Gurudwara, prompting community members to rush to the scene to help.
Rather than wait for official assistance that might take hours to arrive, two brave villagers named Sukhbinder Singh and Gagandeep Singh came up with a resourceful and courageous plan. Linking hands across the dangerous gap, they formed a human chain to create a makeshift bridge, allowing all 35 children to cross safely without any injuries. At least ten other villagers also used the human bridge to cross the damaged road, benefiting from the quick thinking and selfless bravery of these two heroes. The local panchayat praised their actions as an admirable example of ‘jugaad’, a Hindi term for clever improvisation in difficult situations, and their story serves as a powerful reminder of how community spirit and individual courage can triumph over crisis.