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Year 2006 has witnessed many
tragedies. There have been bus accidents, there have been massacres at he
hands of militants wherein families have been wiped off, but the greatest
tregidy was the death of over two dozen school children who drowned in
Wullar Lake during a joy ride on May 30, 2006. The tragedy took place
when a boat carrying 40-45 kids from Burning Candle School, Handwara,
over turned due to heavy winds.
The rescued children blamed the boat driver for
the mishap. “We requested the driver to turn back to shore following
heavy winds, but the driver himself jumped into the lake and fled from
the spot”. Following the mishap, violent protests were organized against
the Navy burning their pickets and to disburse the protesters, force had
to be used resulting into injuries to some of them.
No official from the Navy, however was available
for comment. Meanwhile Chief Minister Gulam Nabi Azad expressed deep
grief and sorrow on the drowning of school children. Azad conveyed to the
bereaved families and expressed his solidarity with them at this hour of
grief and sorrow. Azad who visited the area where from the children
hailed announced an ex-gratia relief of 20000 Rs each to the next of kin
of the deceased from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
PM Dr Manmohan Singh, UPA Chair Person and
Congress President, Sonia Gandhi besides other Central leaders were
prompt to convey their deep sorrow over the tragic accident.
But, as the psyche of the leadership in Kashmir
has become, forgetting the tragedy, they found it yet another tool to
blame the Indian security agenc-ies. As a result, both factions of
Hurriyet Conference, Jammu and Kashmir liberation front, United Jihad
Council, Hizbul Mujahideen and many other groups lashed out on the Navy
for reasons best known to them. Dukhtaran-e-Millat cheif Asiya Andarabi
has blamed the two Navy officials accompanying the school child-ren for
the mishap. “The Navy officials misbehaved with the senior girl students,
which was objected by the school peon breaking into a scuffle thereby
creating panic among the students”. “The Navy personel first took boys
and brought them back and later on ferried girl students in the boat with
intention to make them victim of their lust”. She added.
Asiya also blamed Navy comm-andos for not making
any attempt to save the drowning children. “Instead, troops opened fire
on the mourners carrying the bodies of the children”. Asiya said the
troops have “Started unlea-shing a reign ofterror”after PM’s statement of
zero tolerance. One of the surviving students, Rafiqa Sultan of 9th class
told J&K Reporter, “When the boat reached the middle of
lake it wobbled .Our teachers and the peon cried with fear and asked the boat
men to rush back towards the shore, but he jumped into the lake. After
that I fell unconscious”.
The Navy spokesman had this to say to J&K
Reporter: “Preliminary investigations indicate that a group of teachers
and school children of a private primary school at Handwara approached
the sailors on duty and requested for a boat ride in BAUT, which has a
capacity to carry 17 fully equipped combat troops plus 2 crew members
only. The unexpected winds followed by panic among the students caused
the accident”. However, he was sorry for what had happened claiming that
the Indian Navy fully shared the sorrow of the bereaved families and
stood committed to provide any assistance in this hour of grief.
Accidents are accidents on which no body has a
control, but some one or the other has to share the responsibility. In
this case also both school authorities and the boat crew have to be held
equally responsible. Requesting the boat crew for a joy ride in Wullar
Lake ferrying in which has always been a risky affair was a wrong move on
the part of the school teachers. Similarly, the boat crew is equally at
fault for acceding to the request of the teachers for the joy ride which
in no way could be their business. As far the over loading, both the boat
crew and the school authorities were equally responsible as it could not
have happened without each other’s consent.
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