Day 2: Bodies of 3 drowned labourers yet to retrieved; families traumatised

Baramulla, Mar 4: The trauma for the families of labourers drowned in the River Jhelum during the dismantling of an old abandoned bridge at Mohra Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Sunday continued for the second day as their bodies could not be traced.

Three labourers were whisked away in River Jhelum on Sunday when they were working on dismantling a bridge at Mohra, Uri.

The labourers were busy in the dismantling process when the bridge structure collapsed and the three labourers drowned in the River Jhelum.

The missing labourers were identified as Shakeel Ahmad Mir of Chokibal, Kupwara; Bilal Ahmad Reshi of Arizal, Budgam; and Muhammad Aslam Chauhan of Anantnag.

SDPO Uri, Showkat Ali told Greater Kashmir that efforts were on to retrieve the bodies of the missing labourers. He said that at least six rescue teams had been deployed to retrieve the bodies.

Ali said few of the rescue teams had been deployed along the river banks while other teams were rigorously searching in the main dam at Salamabad, Uri.

“The rescue operation has been further expanded by deploying a few more rescue teams,” he said.

Meanwhile, for the traumatised family members of the drowned labourers, the endless wait continued for the second day on Monday.

Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, the brother of the drowned labour, Shakeel Ahmad Mir of Chokibal, Kupwara, said that they received the information about his brother’s drowning at around 2 pm on Sunday.

He said although the rescue operation was in full swing, the members of the SDRF team were not well equipped.

“One of the bodies was spotted behind a huge boulder in the River Jhelum on Sunday evening but the members of the rescue team took a lot of time in preparing themselves for the final attempt to bring back the body on the shore. Till then the body drifted away in the fast current of the River Jhelum,” Mir said.

The uncle of another drowned labour, Bilal Ahmad Reshi of Arizal, Budgam said that the tragedy left them devastated.

“We are devastated,” he said. “The pain is unimaginable. The saddest part is that his body has not been retrieved yet.”