A simple cricket game turned into a tragedy on Thursday evening when a 10-year-old boy slipped into the fast-flowing Madhumati Nallah in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
By Friday evening, a massive search operation involving marine commandos, police and hundreds of local volunteers was still desperately looking for him.
The boy, Momin Aashiq, was playing near the water in Kaloosa Ganai Mohalla around 7:30 PM. Local resident Sameer Wani said Momin was just trying to retrieve his ball when disaster struck.
“The water flow was high, his foot slipped, and he fell into the Madhumati Nallah,” Wani explained.
The initial rescue operation continued late into Thursday night before the dark waters forced officials to pause the search.
Rescuers and locals were back at the riverbanks in the wee hours of Friday and continued scouring the area into the evening. Specialised MARCOS commandos and civil administration officials also joined the SDRF, local police and dozens of community volunteers.
The incident has shaken the entire town. Bandipora MLA Nizamuddin Bhat, along with several other political leaders and activists, visited the site on Friday to monitor the efforts and support the grieving family.
Deputy Commissioner of Bandipora Indu Kanwal also visited the scene, expressing deep sorrow while acknowledging the grim reality of the passing hours.
“It is very unfortunate that within 12 hours we are now likely looking for a body. As time passes, our hopes are diminishing,” Kanwal stated.
She pointed out that while the banks of the nallah are secured with netting, some gaps were purposely left open so locals could wash their clothes. She issued a strong appeal to parents living near the water to keep a close watch on their children so they do not wander into these dangerous gaps.
To give the rescue teams the best possible chance, the district administration took the major step of asking the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to halt the river’s water flow.
“We officially took this up and stopped the water last night,” Kanwal said. She explained that because the NHPC operates a power project, they had to release some water briefly in the afternoon.
“Now, we have again asked them to shut off the water completely from 11 AM to 5 PM today. Stopping the water entirely will be helpful for the search operations.”
As of Friday evening, search teams and locals continued to comb the rocky riverbed, hoping to bring closure to the family.
