Tragedy breaks village children’s routine, steals ecstasy
Rajouri, Jan 30: For children from Badhaal village, affected with mysterious deaths, it is not easy to get attuned to the changed circumstances.
For them too, times are “different and tough” yet their concerns are different from those of elders.
They are missing the wild splendour of childhood as they are unable to find friends as some have been shifted to separation facilities established in Rajouri and few have fallen prey to the spate of mysterious deaths.
Badhaal village was converted into a containment zone a week ago and three sub-containment zones were created. Families in sub containment zone-one and zone-two have been shifted to separation facilities while families in sub containment zone-three are in their village only.
The children left in sub-containment zone three of this village can be seen grazing their cattle. But their faces wear a gloomy look as their friends are missing.
Thirteen children of three families, including six children of Muhammad Aslam, three of Muhammad Rafiq and four of Fazal Hussain, are among seventeen people, who have died in mysterious circumstances during the last seven weeks.
The children left in the village graze their cattle alongside the road while pining for their friends, with whom they used to play games and share joy.
Muhammad Musharraf, a third-class student from Badhaal village, shares that Mohammad Rafiq’s son Ahafaq used to study in school with him but he fell prey to “some disease.”
“Both of us used to go to school together and after coming back from school, both of us used to play together. But now my friend is not there with me,” Musharraf said.
“I miss Shafaq a lot, but now I will never find him,” he added.
Nayeem Ahmed, another local child, who studies in fifth class, says, “All the children, who have died in our village, were our friends. We used to play together and go to school together.”
“Ever since our friends have died, a gloominess has devoured the entire village. It is making us sad. We are also afraid of one thing - who knows when this disease will kill us too,” Nayeem shares his apprehension. “Our families do not allow us to go out,” he adds.
“We cannot stay at home, so we have come to the road with our goats so that we can spend some time outside,” he says.