Shabir Ahmad Dar, 40, works as a lineman in the PWD department of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. As the valley witnessed a heavy snowfall earlier this week, affecting road connectivity, electricity, and water supply; District hospital Kulgam reeled under darkness affecting the operations of the hospital.

Dar along with his team set out to repair the faulty electric lines. He took the lead and climbed the electricity pole. As Dar joined the cables, he received an electric shock. The next time he opened his eyes, he was in a hospital ward with his family members around him. Dar was lucky to have survived without suffering any major injury.

“I received a call from the authorities that the District hospital is running without electricity. I immediately called my colleagues and we reached the spot. As I joined the cables, I received a shock and fell down,” Dar said.

“It’s a miracle that I survived. I’ve seen many of my colleagues dying while performing their duties but the authorities remain unmoved. We play with live wires and risk our lives but we aren’t even provided a pair of safety gloves,” Dar rued.

Dar is one among hundreds of ‘winter warriors’ who work at the frontlines whenever there is a need.

Farooq Ahmad Dar, a resident of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district woke up to an early call from the Municipality office. Farooq was asked for a snow clearance operation from Ganderbal town to the hilly areas of the district. He immediately went out for work.

Farooq in the wee hours of the morning cleared almost 15 km of off snow, including some portion of National Highway (NH1). Farooq cleared the roads of the far-flung areas of the district to facilitate the movement of the public and vehicles.

“Although snow clearing is not considered a dangerous job, we too risk our lives to bring life back on track in heavy snowfall. In hilly areas snow clearance can turn out to be a life-threatening task,” Farooq said.

“Our families worry for us until we return home safely. Although we get a good amount for the work we do but mostly we are driven by the thought of helping others,” Farooq Ahmad added.