Tailor by day, traffic guardian by night: Meet Makum’s unsung hero

Doomdooma, Jan 29: As the Chief Minister’s convoy rolled into Doomdooma on Sunday to mark a milestone in Assam’s tea history, another, quieter story of service was unfolding a few kilometres away in Makum – far from the stage, without banners or applause.

At the Makum police point near Digboi Road, a familiar figure stood alert amid the blare of horns and the Sunday market rush.

Dressed in a faded ‘khaki’ uniform and a whistle in hand, 58-year-old Dipak Das was doing what he has done for over two decades – regulating traffic, guiding pedestrians, and lending an invisible but indispensable hand to the police.

By profession, Dipak Das is a tailor. Every day, from around 8 am till late afternoon, he bends over a sewing machine placed on the veranda of a shuttered shop.

There, stitching shirts and trousers for modest wages, he earns just enough to support his family of four. But when dusk approaches, the sewing machine rests, the needle sleeps, and Dipak Das steps into another role altogether.

Wearing his old ‘khaki’ uniform, he takes to the streets. From 7 pm till late evening, and often from early morning on busy days like Sundays, he joins the Makum traffic police, voluntarily controlling vehicular movement in a town notorious for congestion, especially on weekly market days.

For many passers-by, he appears to be a Home Guard. Few realise that he is not officially one.

“This is not something I did for a day or two. I have been doing this for almost 20 to 22 years,” said Dipak Das.

The reason, he recalls, was simple and deeply human.

Years ago, watching elderly people, schoolchildren, and patients struggling to cross busy roads used to trouble him. One day, he decided to step in, and that decision grew into a lifelong habit of service.

Born in Mezenga of Sivasagar district, Dipak Das moved to Makum with his family after his father, a railway employee, took voluntary retirement due to illness. He was then a Class-VI student. Over the years, Makum became not just his home, but his responsibility.

Today, it is difficult to find someone in Makum who does not recognise him. Many assume he is officially part of the Home Guards. In reality, he remains a volunteer – unpaid, yet unwavering.

His son, Dipankar, passed the HSLC examination last year with letter marks in two subjects, while his daughter, Mohini, is currently studying in Class-VIII.

But that’s not all. He is also deeply involved in the community.

He has been an active member of the management and development committee of Makum GBC Higher Secondary School and a former two-term president of the local primary school management committee.

Over the years, several organisations and institutions have publicly felicitated him for his selfless service. Yet, official recognition from the government has remained elusive.

“There is no big or small work,” Dipak Das said, and his life is living proof of that philosophy. His sacrifice may not yet be recorded in official files, but on Makum’s streets, every safe crossing and every eased traffic snarl bears quiet testimony to his devotion.