Mehran Bhat
Saja Begum, 60, stands by the swelling Jhelum river, surrounded by her fellow residents in the midst of the chaos at Gandabal Srinagar. With a photo of her 38-year-old son, Showkat, clasped tightly in her hands, she watches the ongoing rescue efforts with a mixture of hope and despair. Each passing moment feels like an eternity as she waits, her heart aching with the uncertainty of her son’s fate. All she can do is hold onto that picture, a tangible reminder of the loved one she fears may never return home.
“I am abandoned, utterly alone. Showkat Ahmed Sheikh was my only light, the one who sheltered me. Who will care for me now, in these old years?” she moaned, her voice strained with anguish, as she turned away from the river’s edge, where she spends most of her time.
Among the nineteen (19) persons on board, Showkat Ahmad Sheikh, a mason, who was accompanying his child Haziq to school, is still missing along with Farhan Waseem. Firdousa Akhtar, her twin children, Mudasir and Tanveer, Shabir Ahmed Bhat, son of Bashir Ahmed Bhat, Raziya, daughter of Ghulam Mohammed Gojri, and Gulzar Ahmed Dar died during the tragic incident.
Those rescued were identified as Masarat Waseem, accompanying her 7-year-old son Farhan, who remains missing, Irshada Bilal, Ghulam Nabi, Mehraj u Din, Aisha Bilal, Noor Mohammed, Humaira Jan, Mohammed Rafiq, and Mushtaq Ahmed.
The incident of the capsizing of the boat in Srinagar, carrying nineteen (19) people, nine (9) of them school-going children, has triggered mourning across Kashmir, with political parties demanding an investigation into the incident. The People’s Democratic Party lashed out at the administration for the prolonged delay in the construction of the bridge spanning twelve years. The National Conference sought a thorough investigation into the tragedy.
As hundreds have gathered by the banks of Jhelum, the rescue teams are working hard to find those who are still missing, the Inspector General of Police Kashmir VK Birdi said that the search effort to locate the three missing individuals from the depths of the river Jhelum was ongoing.
He emphasized that all police stations along the river Jhelum have been put on high alert to vigilantly monitor any signs of the bodies. “Throughout the night, the rescue mission persisted, and as morning dawned, it resumed once more. Yet, regrettably, the bodies have not been recovered,” he informed the reporters.
From the past several days it had been raining constantly in south Kashmir causing the tributaries of Jhelum to swell. The water levels are now decreasing in south, however, a huge discharge of water into Jhelum hampered the operations on Tuesday. “With the levels of water decreasing, we are hopeful that we will find those who are missing,” an SDRF personnel told The Kashmiriyat.
As the search continues on the second day, the locals continue asking questions to the authorities over the non-completion of the bridge. “Curse the bridge that was never constructed. My son would have been alive today,” wailed Saja.
Heroic Rescuer
Even though the tragedy unfolded in Srinagar, individuals from distant places like Pulwama and Anantnag converged upon the site to witness the desperate rescue endeavors unfolding before them. One 26-year-old youth, Mohammed Rafiq, who had come from Anantnag’s Wanpoh area said, “This is not merely a mourning for these families. It is a mourning for entire Kashmir. I have come here, along with my friends on a scooter, covering a distance of over 60 kilometers. We held prayers in our mosque for the rescue teams to be able to find those missing. It is grief for all of us who live in Kashmir.”
He told The Kashmiriyat that several people from nearby areas in Wanpoh Anantnag, which lies on the old Srinagar-Jammu highway had come to Gandabal on Tuesday to watch the search operations. “They all came back with heavy hearts after the rescue teams could not find the bodies,” said Rafiq.
One of the many people who have come from south Kashmir to express grief is Abdul Salam Dar from Kakapora Pulwama. Salam is a hero rescuer and is known for rescuing dozens of bodies from the Jhelum. He has rescued people even during the floods of 2014.
His heroism caught the notice of Kashmir in December 2022. A rescue team led by him reached Sopore to search the body of a teenage girl, who had allegedly jumped into the river, but Abdul Salam’s rescues mostly come out of his love for the Kashmir valley and its residents.
“I have come here on my own. I have not been invited. This is time of great tragedy for all of us, I feel like my own children have drowned in the water. I have rescued more than 50 people, many of them in alive from this river. I have been searching, but Allah most of the times helps me find people in the river, I know so closely. I am hopeful that I will find them,” said Abdul Salam.
This bridge must have been completed by now, Abdul Salam said.
According to eyewitnesses who spoke to The Kashmiriyat, the wooden boat started its journey to cross the overflowing waters of the Jhelum at approximately 7:45 am on Tuesday. Tragedy struck when the rope tethering the boat snapped abruptly.
“In the middle of the river, the tether gave way, sending the vessel careening uncontrollably towards the pillar of a bridge still under construction, amidst the relentless current,” recounted a witness to The Kashmiriyat. With a swiftness, the boat succumbed to the force of the water, splitting into two before sinking instantaneously, dragging all souls aboard into the depths.
A city of incomplete bridges
On Wednesday morning, residents of Pantha Chowk in Srinagar staged a protest to demand the completion of a footbridge in the area. Raising slogans against the administration, the locals including women and children from Summerbugh said that despite so many years having passed the construction of the bridge has not been completed.
They said that the construction of the footbridge at Pantha Chowk was laid in 2017 by the former Minister for Public Works. The bridge was laid down to connect the areas of Sunmerbugh, Karnabal, Rakhshalina with the Pantha Chowk. The locals speaking to The Kashmiriyat lamented that the work has been stopped on the footbridge a few years ago.
The absence of the this bridge forces the residents of the area to take boats and it is very scary when the water level exceeds. If we opt for the conventional route, We would have been compelled to traverse a distance two to three kilometers to arrive at the very same destination,” said a protestor.
Besdies Gandabal and Summerbugh, another bridge spanning 140 meters for vehicular traffic, was meant to link multiple areas with the old national highway. Commencing in 2017 with an estimated expenditure of Rs 13.30 crores, the construction of the bridge at Sempora has been sluggish, with only half of the work accomplished thus far.
Scores of colonies settled besides the Jhelum river in these Srinagar areas await construction of several footbridges in the city which, as per officials, is seeing new age of development. The unfinished bridges are posing significant commuting challenges for thousands of residents residing across the Jhelum in the outskirts of Srinagar city.
Amidst these claims, what is left behind is the haunting stories and the agonizing memories of those swallowed by the waters. “It was just an ordinary day. He asked for my blessing before setting off, to ferry his son across. He was a mason, and as I stepped into my kitchen, a piercing wail shattered the tranquility—that’s all I recall,” Saja Begum recounted to The Kashmiriyat, her voice trembling with anguish.
“Had the bridge been finished on time, the tragedy would have never happened. We do not know about bridges and roads now. They can construct bridges now, but will they be able to return our children,” Showkat’s aunt cried.
Additional reporting by Qazi Shibli