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Gulmarg terror attack: Slain army porters leave behind ailing parents, young widows & kids
Mushtaq Ahmad Chowdhary and Zahoor Ahmad Mir, both residents of Uri in Baramulla, lost their lives, along with two soldiers of the Indian Army, after terrorists targeted a vehicle of the army at Botapather in Gulmarg near the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district
The two Kashmiri army porters, who were killed in a militant attack on an army vehicle in Gulmarg on Thursday, belonged to poor families and have left behind ailing parents, numb widows and young children, who have not even started school yet.
Mushtaq Ahmad Chowdhary and Zahoor Ahmad Mir, both residents of Uri in Baramulla, lost their lives, along with two soldiers of the Indian Army, after terrorists targeted a vehicle of the army at Botapather in Gulmarg near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Chowdhary, 27, a resident of remote Nowshera village in Uri, was the sole bread earner for his wife, a son of three years and aged parents, including his father who has been suffering from cancer for the past two years. He had been working as an army porter, helping them carry supplies and clearing paths, for the past five months allowing him a steady income for his family and ailing father in this remote village.
“He would take good care of me, bringing me medicines and taking me to the doctor in Srinagar (summer capital over 100 km away). He was the only support of the family,” said Chowdhary’s father, Mohammad Yaqoob, who is in his 70s.
Recently, he had come home on leave to take his father to the doctor in Srinagar and bring him medicines and three days back he returned to work.
Chowdhary had called home on Thursday afternoon asking for the well-being of the family. “He called me at 1 pm asking about the health of his father and looking for his son. He told me that he will call later. There was no conversation in the evening as the call was not going through. I could just talk to him during the day and that was it,” said his wife, sobbing, while his three-year-old son was oblivious of the tragedy that has befallen the family.
Likewise, Zahoor Ahmad Mir, 27, a resident of Barnate Boniyar, has also working with the army for the past five months. Living in a single-room house, he is survived by his wife and two children aged 3 and 5. He would also take care of his old ailing parents, in their 80s, who were living with Mir’s brothers.
“It is like a calamity has befallen the whole family. His wife is inconsolable while his children are too young to understand anything,” said Mir’s brother-in-law, Manzoor Ahmad Najar, who is also a porter.
“We don’t know how his wife will survive. She is just 26 and has become a widow with two young children and no formal education. The elder boy was admitted to a school just a few months back,” he said.
Their relatives and residents of Uri wanted the government to take care of their children and families.
“Both these youths are from poor families and had gone with the army to earn their livelihood. They were just five months into the work. In Mushtaq’s case, the family was in distress owing to his father’s illness and now this calamity. What is a worse tragedy than this? I want to request the government that the families should be able to sustain themselves after these deaths,” said a resident of Uri.
Kin of porters get ₹6 lakh in compensation
Baramulla deputy commissioner (DC) Minga Sherpa accompanied by Uri sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Javaid Ahmad paid a visit to the families of the two porters who were killed in the attack at BotaPathri, Gulmarg, on Friday. During the visit, the DC presented compensation cheques of ₹6 lakh to each family, aiming to provide immediate relief to support them through this period of loss.
He further emphasised the district administration’s commitment to standing with the families in this time of grief, pledging continued support to ensure they have access to necessary resources as they move forward.
