While entire India is going through the lockdown period, the ICC international panel umpire Anil Chaudhary has been stuck in his ancestral village, Dangrol in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district. The major issue is that he is struggling to contact with his family due to the network problem.
Anil Chaudhary and his two sons are currently living in the village where they visited on 16th March. While they had the plan to stay for a week, the lockdown has forced them to stay in the village for a more extended period.
Chaudhary told PTI-Bhasha, “I’m here with my two sons since 16 March. I was visiting the village after quite some time so I planned to stay for a week but then the lockdown was announced and now I’m following the directives, while my mother and wife are in Delhi.”
Due to the network problem, Chaudhary is struggling to contact with his family. To find the network, Chaudhary is even going outside the village, climbing up a tree or going to the rooftop. However, he is still struggling to find out a constant network.
He added, “The biggest problem is the network here. I can’t talk to anyone or use the internet. To be able to do that I have to go outside the village, climb up a tree or go to the rooftop. Then also the network is not available all the time.”
In this lockdown period, some educational institutes have decided to follow the online classes to continue the study. But one of Chaudhary’s sons is unable to attend the online classes due to the absence of internet services in the village.
Chaudhary claimed, “One of my son studies in the Hindu College, his classes are going on but he is unable to attend them.”
This network problem has been there for the past one year: Anil Chaudhary
The village is around 85 kms away from Delhi. Chaudhary has reported that the network problem in his village is a regular scene for the last one year.
He said, “This network problem has been there for the past one year but because of the lockdown it is affecting studies. This village is only 85km away from Delhi.”
Chaudhary also clarified that the village chief recently sent a letter to the district-in-charge, mentioning the present network issue. However, they haven’t got any answer yet.
He added, “We sent a letter 10 days ago but we are yet to receive an answer.”
Even in this tough period, Chaudhary is trying to help his village in the best way. Apart from educating his village people, he has also distributed some masks in the community.
Chaudhary said, “I have asked people here not to gather around, avoid playing cards together, continuously wash their hands with soap.
“I have also distributed some masks to them and all of them are maintaining social distancing.”
Since 2013, Anil Chaudhary has officiated 48 international matches (20 in ODIs and 28 in T20Is) as an on-field umpire and 33 international matches (four in Test, 17 in ODIs and 12 in T20Is) as a TV umpire. He has also officiated in the women’s international matches, both as an on-field umpire and as a TV umpire.