Srinagar, May 2: Never would have he imagined that this might be his lost journey. Bashir Ahmad Dagroo Monday left his family as usual to drop a group of tourists at Gulmarg, but never returned.
 Family members and friends of 55-year-old Dagroo are yet to reconcile with the tragedy that befell them as mourners outpour their feelings for this man who according to them has always proved a helping hand to one and sundry.
 Dagroo of Tankipora here, was found dead on the next day (Tuesday) in his vehicle at Gulmarg. The deceased, according to his friends, could not afford to stay at a hotel for the night and instead preferred to sleep in his vehicle.
 Muhammad Ayaan son of deceased is crying as he has lost his best friend in his father.
 Ayaan recalls the fateful day when his father received a call saying some tourists were intending to visit Gulmarg and they needed a cab.
 “My father readily agreed to take the group despite the cold weather conditions at Gulmarg. He said that tourist had come here to enjoy and I will make sure that they reach the places where they want,” Ayaan said with tears in his eyes.
 Bashir is survived by two daughters, wife and a son. For them he was everything and his death has shattered all their hopes.
 “ Who will now look after his family members, who will marry off his daughters, all the burden of running day to day affairs of his family will now fall on the shoulders of young Ayaan,” a relative of the deceased said while wailing at his moderate house. 

Police version
 Body of driver Bashir Ahmad Dagroo, a resident of Tankipora Locality of Srinagar, was recovered from his Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) at Gulmarg, 55 kms from here, a police spokesman said.
 He said inquest proceedings have been initiated to ascertain the cause of Dagroo's death.
 Quoting preliminary investigations, official sources said the driver had apparently died of intense cold as he had slept inside his vehicle.
 The night temperature at the hill resort had plunged to sub zero over the past couple of days due to fresh snowfall in the high-altitude areas and incessant rains in the plains.

TASK condoles
 Secretary General, TASK, Muhammad Rafiq Siah on behalf of Travel Agents Society of Kashmir (TASK) condoled the sad demise of Dagroo.
  “It is very sad that cab driver died due to cold as he found the hotel accommodation unaffordable,” Siah said

KTTTF protests 
 Kashmir Tourist Taxi Transporters Federation Wednesday announced that they will stop their services to Gulmarg for four days following the dead of Dagroo.
 According to a statement of KTTTF, taxi service to Gulmarg will remain suspended for four days as “no hotelier is ready to provide us accommodation.”
 “Bashir Ahmad died due to cold weather conditions and no hotelier provided him any shelter,” the statement said.
 “We want government to intervene into the matter so that drivers don’t face any inconvenience. The government should set special accommodation for the drivers at the tourist spots so that they can stay there during night,” it said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 2 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 2 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 3 May 2012 00:00:00 IST