Shair Colony mourns loss of 4 youth in fatal blast

Sopore, July 30: An unspeakable tragedy on Monday cast a pall of grief over Shair Colony, a small residential area primarily inhabited by scrap dealers in the suburbs of Sopore town.

Four youth were killed after a mysterious blast took place while they were segregating scrap material in the courtyard of their home on Monday.

Among the deceased include three cousins, Azim Ashraf Mir, 21, Adil Rashid Bhat, 21, and Muhammad Azhar Fafoo, 19, besides Nazir Ahmad Nadroo, 34, of Shair Colony Sopore.

The sudden and mysterious blast has left families and neighbours in a state of shock and mourning.

The quiet lanes of Shair Colony now echo with the sounds of grief.

Abdul Rashid Bhat’s painful cries ‘Adila Azi Ha Phutrotham Qamar’ and ‘Dachi Gendh Gendh Ha Osmakh Mangith Hethmut’ reverberate through the air.

Adil was Bhat’s only son among five children.

He is survived by his young children, a three-month-old daughter and a three-year-old son besides.

Adil's father, surviving on a single kidney, was dependent on him.

In the tent erected for mourners, Abdul Rashid Bhat and Muhammad Ashraf sit side by side, their shoulders touching in shared sorrow.

They curse the day their sons left for Ladakh to collect scrap, a dangerous yet essential source of their livelihood.

“I was not in favour of their visit to Ladakh for scrap collection,” Bhat said.

“Had there been some divine intervention, their trip would have been cancelled. Why didn’t I die the day my kidney was removed? What do I have to live for now?” he said.

Bhat had his kidney removed a few months back following renal failure.

And Adil was the only hope of his survival.

Next to him, Muhammad Ashraf mourned the loss of his 21-year-old son, Azim Ashraf, a promising footballer whose trophies and certificates are now painful reminders of a future that will never be. “Though I insisted my son on returning when he showed me the scrap material loaded with suspicious objects like some explosive shells or mines, they assured me it was just expired material,” Ashraf said.

Among the four deceased, the youngest was Muhammad Azhar, who had never before ventured into the scrap business but decided to join his cousins due to his family’s economic struggles.

His father, Ghulam Mohiuddin, had a pacemaker implanted just two weeks prior.

Advised to avoid stress, Mohiuddin sits alone in his modest house, unable to escape the sorrow that fills the air.

“I am advised to stay calm due to my heart ailment, but how can I remain calm when I have lost my flower-like son?” he cries.

The magnitude of this tragedy is unprecedented in the area.

Wailing women beat their chests, their cries heard from afar.

Each visitor to the mourning families is moved to tears.

Women holding Adil’s young children in their arms utter words of sorrow and prayer, tearing at the hearts of all who witness their grief.

“Khoda Ha Karew Rehnumeyi Suna Trayawni Pathar,” yelled one mourning woman while holding siblings of Adil in her lap.

Bashir Ahmad, a relative, recounts the tragic incident: “After their arrival, they decided to segregate the scrap material. While three of them left for lunch, four continued working. Suddenly, a blast occurred. Two died on the spot, while Adil, critically injured, held his intestines in his hands, trying to push them back into his body,” Bashir said.

Adil, despite his injuries, remained conscious and urged others to rescue his cousins.

He tried to calm himself but succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.

In the aftermath of this devastating event, there are questions among the mourners: Why did the scrap material contain unexploded mines and shells? Who provided these dangerous goods to the scrap dealers? Why isn’t an investigation being held into this devastating incident? Why is the government silent? Why didn’t it announce any compensation to the victims' families? Are these people children of lesser gods?