(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- Gundbal held its breath as boats crisscrossed the river, rescue teams tirelessly scanning the waters in a desperate attempt to bring closure to the families of the missing. Saja Begum, with her weathered features and softly graying hair peeks out of her window. Her gaze, unwavering and intense, followed the rescue boats' every move. Three days witnessed the relentless search for bodies, yet her son, Showkat, and grandson, Haziq remain lost in the river's depths.“Where have you gone,” she wails.“I will eat food only when my son's body is found.”
ADVERTISEMENTA few houses away, a similar scene unfolded, yet painted in a different shade of grief. Farhan Parray's parents sat, a portrait of stunned silence. Unlike Saja's wails that echoed through the neighborhood, their sorrow manifested in a hollow stillness. Their eyes, red-rimmed and searching, flickered between the window and each other.
“They are in shock, not uttering a word. Dead body of their son is all they are waiting for,” a relative who had come to offer her condolences to the family said.
In the midst of this collective sorrow, condolences poured in from across Kashmir. Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Awantipora, in a bid to show deep sense of solidarity walked miles to Gandbal from Batwara to pay his respects to Showkat Ahmad.“Although I did not know him personally, I couldn't stay back home,” he said, reflecting the collective sense of loss that brought people from all corners of Kashmir together.
Read Also '3 Empty Chairs': Students In Srinagar School Mourn Death of Classmates Srinagar Boat Tragedy: Search Operation Enters Day 3 Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Gandbal remained grim as a rescue operation to retrieve the dead bodies continued for the third day with teams from SDRF, NDRF, Indian Army's MARCO'S, Fire and Emergency Services, and other rescue teams conducting the operation.
Abdul Salaam, a 64-year-old expert swimmer from Kakapora area of Pulwama, who has retrieved many human bodies from the river Jhelum at different spots also continued with his efforts to retrieve the dead bodies on the third day.
Salaam feels disappointed but is hopeful to find the bodies.
“When the boat capsized, the water current was swift, increasing the likelihood of bodies being carried away, possibly to 'Chattabal Veer' but I am hopeful in tracing the bodies” Salaam said.
He expressed concern that due to the high level and flow of the Jhelum, it could take up to a month for them to wash ashore and said he has not witnessed such a devastating incident before.
“The incident I remember is the one at Wular River in 2006, where 22 people – 21 of whom were children – died after a boat carrying them capsized in the lake”
Back home, with no trace of her son and grandson, Saja Begum now bids farewell to any semblance of good times, mourning with her grieving family with the pain of loss and uncertainty.
“My family is left with no male members now; only Showkat's sisters remain,”heartbroken Saja murmurs.” But all of his friends are my sons, I am thankful to all of you,” she consoles herself.
The tragedy painted the neighborhood in shades of lament, each family bound by the river's cruel grasp, yet experiencing grief in its own unique and devastating way. For families like Farhan's, the agonizing limbo continued while for some, the wait had already ended in a crushing confirmation.
Down the street, a newly constructed house mourned the death of three of its family members. Babloo, a mason who had recently moved to Gundbal with his family, now found himself staring at the walls. The deadly boat tragedy consumed his twin sons and his wife.
His hands usually strong and capable, hung limply at his sides. The very walls he had built with such care now seemed to mock him.
“We moved here with such happiness,” he rasped, his voice raw with grief.“Now, everything seems on fire.”
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