Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Apr 16: A year after the heartbreaking Gandbal Srinagar boat tragedy that claimed eight lives, including schoolchildren and a woman, the grief remains fresh for the people of this Srinagar locality.
While a bridge has finally been constructed at the site, it has come too late for families, who lost their loved ones on that fateful day (April 16, 2024). One of the bodies, however, continued to remain untraced even after a year, leaving a wound that refuses to heal.
On April 16, 2024, a boat ferrying residents across the Jhelum River at Gandbal capsized. With no bridge, the boat was the only option for daily commuters, especially schoolchildren.
On the morning of April 16, tragedy struck as the boat overturned and capsized in the Jhelum, leaving at least eight people dead and one person missing, with several others injured.
Despite extensive search and rescue operations, the body of Showkat Ahmad Sheikh, a 40-year-old man, could not be recovered till date.
“This bridge is a lifeline now, but it arrived after lives were lost,” said Mohammad Umer, a local from the area, said. “Had it been constructed earlier, maybe our children would still be alive.”
Locals from the area also remembered the deceased victims and prayed for the one who never came back. Special prayers were held in Masjids for the victims and the people paid homage while sharing memories of the incident.
Meanwhile, for the grieving locals and families, the constructed bridge is a painful reminder of both neglect and loss. Residents say that authorities had long promised a bridge, but it took a tragedy to finally act.
“Governments came and went. Politicians made announcements. But nothing happened until our children died,” said another resident. “Now, we have a bridge, but we have lost our future.”
Earlier, the tragic incident had sparked widespread outrage across the Valley, with civil society groups demanding accountability and better infrastructure in vulnerable areas.
A magisterial inquiry was launched, but its findings have yet to be made public.
Tauseef Ahmad, a teenager from the Batwara locality, said, he still sees the river in nightmares. “We lost neighbours that day, and we will never forget it,” he said.
Pertinently, Gandbal Bridge in Srinagar was completed and opened to the public on December 14, 2024, over eight months after the boat capsize incident.
The bridge had been under construction for nearly a decade, with work commencing in 2016-2017 and facing multiple delays over the years.
