Kishtwar, July 24: While grief stricken people of Kishtwar township observed complete bandh to mourn the death of victims of yesterday’s road mishap, some heart rending tragedies start coming to light where entire family members and sole bread earners were reported to have perished in the tragic accident.
 Police, in the meanwhile, Saturday released a list of twenty-two persons, who were believed to be traveling in the ill-fated vehicle, which met with the tragic accident on Friday.
 Even as the life came to standstill with no activity taking place in the town, the people were seen going from one house to another to mourn the demise of persons killed in yet another mishap in the mountainous district.
 Gloom and despair prevailed among the people during whole day, while traffic remained off the roads and markets wore a deserted look. While all the schools remained closed,   attendance in the government offices was also less.
 Though actual number of casualties and identification of victims is yet to be ascertained with the administration still unable to retrieve the bodies, it is reported that all members of a Bhalesa family and a brother of six sisters was among those killed in the tragic accident .
 Sources said that a family hailing from Galibatoli village of Tehsil Gandoh was killed in the mishap. They said that Mashoom Ahmed hailing from this backward village along with his wife Bibi Begum and a child who were going to Kishtwar for the treatement of their minor son Maqsood Ahmed were also on board the unfateful minibus.
 Another youth, Muhammad Ayub, lone brother of six sisters, was also feared to have died in the accident. Ayub, the sole bread earner of his family had lost his father in a similar accident ten years back. 
 Meanwhile, Minister for Roads and Building, GM Saroori and the Advisor to Chief Minister, Mubarak Gul today inspected the accident site and later held a meeting with the prominent citizens of the area. They were accompanied by MLA Kishtwar Sajad Ahmad Kichloo.
 During the meeting, it was suggested to erect crash barriers on all vulnerable sites on the Batote-Kishtwar highway and widening of narrow portions/zigs of the road. It was also urged to cheek overloading in buses, operationalzing the Disaster Management at district level, phasing out of outdated passenger vehicles, widening the main road from Mali-path to Girinagar sector by GREF authorities and induction of additional SRTC buses in district. Besides it was decided to set up of a Trauma hospital at district headquarter and health care improvement at the DH Kishtwar.
 However, the local residents took the high profile visit as another ritual. “This is nothing but a mere formality”, Abdul Rashid, a local resident said adding, “Government has been doing this since years after every road mishap and forgets every promise within few days”.
 Police said that not a single body could be retrieved from the mighty Chenab due to strong water current. “We are on job but no body could be found today despite hectic searches along the river bank”, a senior police officer said.
 Late evening reports revealed that the police and district administration has almost given hope to fish out any body out of the water after a team of army divers made an unsuccessful attempt.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST