Tragedy in Kashmir

Kashmir is in shock.The fateful morning of Tuesday,16th April plunged entire Kashmir into grief when a boat ferrying school children, locals and other people capsized at Gandabal area of Batwara in Srinagar.It has led to the death of six people that includes a mother, her two children and the boatman.The boat had 15 people on board that included the school children.The boat was crossing Jhelum from Gandabal towards Batwara.Due the incessant rainfall from last two days the water level was above the normal level. As per the eyewitnesses the boatman was trying to cross the river with the help of a rope. Suddenly the rope was broken due the heavy pressure of the water currents, losing the control on the boat.Ultimately, the boat hit the iron bars installed for the construction of the bridge.Boat broke into more than two pieces.People on the banks witnessed the cries of the people asking for help as the people were getting drowned.The school children were drowning with their school bags that could be easily seen floating in the river. Though the local people tried to help but could not do much due to the high water level and the heavy flow of water. People of the area were vociferously saying that there has been immense delay in the completion of the bridge. If the bride would have been completed then there would have been no loss of life and innocent school children would not have lost lives. SDRF and other rescue teams that include the MARCOs have been rushed to trace the missing people in the Jhelum. The District Administration has alerted the police stations across Srinagar to keep vigil on the Jhelum for tracing the missing bodies. This tragedy that has sent shock waves across Srinagar has brought to fore the lack of bridge infrastructure to facilitate the movement of people. It is a pity that in this digital era when administration disposes of the issues within a fraction of second; there is no plan in place to offer appropriate bridge infrastructure to the people of Srinagar city. This tragedy makes one feel that we are living in the medieval era. If this is the state of bridge infrastructure in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir-Srinagar then it can be easily understood what will be the state of affairs in the rural areas. The common man needs the efficient means of transport, roads, bridges, schools and hospitals. This has to be the priority of the administration. These tragedies must be averted by providing the network of crossing bridges across the entire Kashmir valley. So that innocent lives are saved. Kashmir valley has rivers and canals that form its lifeline. Even the kings in ancient times were internalised about the importance of the bridges for crossing the rivers in Kashmir from one bank to another. Srinagar city is famous for its ancient bridges that give the names to localities even to the present times. Habba Kadal, Zaina Kadal, Fateh Kadal,Gaw Kadal, Amira Kadal, Naid Kadal, Bohri Kadal to name a few. These are heritage bridges. Though from time to time repairs have been done. There is an urgent need to do bridge mapping in Kashmir. So that a database is collected and a policy framed for a network of bridges in the entire Srinagar city.This can be extended to other districts. The Jammu and Kashmir UT administration must constitute a committee to look into the matter and save the lives of innocent people.