Amputee Major DP Singh set for half marathon

Amputee Major set for half marathon  Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 14
In a courageous act, a retired major of the Indian Army, who lost his leg during the 1999 operation Vijay, has not only got along with his life nicely, but is slated to run in a half marathon in the national capital on November 27. He will be running on an artificial right leg.
Major DP Singh, whose family hails from Ambala, lost his leg as a young Lieutenant on July 15 1999. Belonging to the 7 Dogra Infantry Regiment, Maj Singh was on a forward location in the Chammb-Jaurian sector along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir when a Pakistani shell exploded virtually at his feet. He was rushed to Akhnoor with little hope for survival having lost his right leg had nearly 40 splinters embedded in his body. “I weighed just 28 kg when I first landed at Pune for rehabilitation nearly 40 days after the incident,” the officer recollected as he narrated the life-changing incident that occurred in the wee hours that fateful day.
Coming out of his post battle-injury life, the young man opted out of the Army. He is now working with a leading private bank as the administrative head for branches in the National Capital Region. Talking about his colleagues the Major says “they have a different kind of respect for me and back in my achieving goals”.
His only child is studying and was born after the crippling injury. Thankfully, the rules of the forces allow full pension in the cases of battle injuries and he did not have to wait for the mandatory 20 years of service to be eligible for his pension.
On November 27, he will run the 21.4-km half marathon with a special leg provided by the Army’s Pune-based Artificial Limb Centre. The leg is lighter than the 3.5-kg apparatus he is using at present. The one provided by the Pune centre is designed for running. The Major has motivated 12 other differently-abled in the 18 to 44 age group to run the half marathon. He has launched a Facebook page “the challenging ones” to motivate more people.