With moist eyes, hands are being raised in prayers both silent and loud, seeking the recovery of a 14-year-old boy who drowned in the Madhumati stream in Kaloosa of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Thursday.
On Sunday, rescue efforts were intensified, with the SDRF, police and local volunteers putting in every effort to fish out the body of Momin Ahmad Ganie of Ganie Mohalla in Kaloosa.
Momin was swept away by the raging waters of the Madhumati on Thursday evening when he and his friend were on a cycling trip neaby his home.
Momin drowned after he spotted a cricket ball floating on the water’s surface. After chasing it for some distance, collecting it and throwing it towards his friend, Momin slipped and fell into the water.
Before his friend or his sister, who was some distance away, could react, Momin was nowhere to be seen.
Ever since, Momin’s mother has not left the riverbank. She has been waiting for her only son, among four sisters, to return.
Those visiting the spot join in prayers, asking for divine intervention and hoping the family can find closure.
Locals recall Momin, a fourth-standard student at a local government school, as a bright student who excelled in studies, with an energy that lit up the faces around him.
On Friday, local women staged a sit-in, asking the administration to ramp up the rescue and recovery operation, with local MLA Nizamuddin Bhat also putting in efforts to cut a crate and lower the water level in the Madhumati, aiding rescuers in the search for Momin’s body.
Former MLA Usman Majid also visited the site, urging the administration to recover the minor’s body sooner.
Notably, Hamza Sheikh, a volunteer rescue swimmer, also arrived in Bandipora on Friday, aiding the search efforts.
Pertinently, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), which diverts water from the Kishanganga river in Gurez, which then discharges into the Bonar Nallah and Madhumati, has been turning off the turbines during the day to help with the recovery efforts. However, Momin remains untraced.
