Impressed by my skills, the hill council officials started taking me for rescues in the Teesta and then recruited me as a river guide.
I’ve been taking tourists rafting and rescuing people during mishaps for years now.
Once while returning from my cousin’s funeral, we learnt that a car had fallen into the river. I grabbed a rope and jumped in. I saved five people, including a woman and a child.
I’ve saved over 1,400 lives – 1,200 were during the 2008 Bihar floods.
I’m proud to have broken the glass ceiling as India’s first woman rafter and rescue expert in a profession where only men work.
Despite the risks, helping people fills me with joy. And I’m happy girls want to follow in my footsteps.