Gagangir- An uneasy calm prevails over Gagangir, a picturesque hamlet surrounded by mountains and dense forests along the Srinagar-Leh National highway where a deadly attack claimed the lives of seven employees of an infrastructure company, including a local doctor.
The attack at the campsite of the workers engaged in the almost-completed 6.5-km Z-Morh tunnel in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district is the first such incident at the site of a major infrastructure project in the past three decades of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
It surprised many — some villagers thought a nearby wedding party was bursting firecrackers.
Three days on from that Sunday evening, an eerie silence seems to have settled in the area, considered the gateway to the famous Sonamarg hill resort, which is expected to get a boost after the opening of the Z-Morh tunnel — a part of a project to provide all-weather connectivity to Ladakh.
Amid an intensified anti-terrorist operation to neutralise the attackers, dozens of police vehicles are stationed near the campsite and forces are keeping a tight vigil on the movement of both civilians and tourists on the strategic highway.
A frail-looking Mohammad Ramzan Mir, in his late sixties, has seen many ups and downs in the turbulent history of Jammu and Kashmir, which is often marred by violence. However, what he witnessed on the cold autumn evening of October 20 sends chills down his spine.
Fixing his clay stove inside his single-storey house, Mir is trying hard to come to terms with life after witnessing the brutal carnage unfold a stone’s throw from his house.
“We could not figure out what was happening. The gunfire scared us all, especially the children. For a moment, I thought it was the sound of firecrackers coming from the house on the opposite side of the road. They had their daughter’s wedding.
“So, initially I took it lightly. But when terrorists started firing indiscriminately, I realised something big had happened,” recalls Mir.
Mir, who works for the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Project Beacon, has never witnessed such gory scenes of death in his area that otherwise remained peaceful even during the peak of terrorism in Kashmir.
Barely 100 metres from Mir’s house, the mood at his neighbour, late Mukhtiyar Khan’s house, was festive due to the marriage ceremony of his daughter.
Khan’s daughter was to get married on Monday and the family was immersed in wedding celebrations — women were dancing and singing traditional folk songs while children were playing in the compound. The loud drum beats at the wedding drowned out the crack of guns and calls for help by victims.
“Everybody was dancing and singing at the wedding. There was noise of ‘dhols’ and the power generators in the house. It took us a good amount of time to realise that a terrorist attack had happened in our area,” says Rubeena, sister-in-law of the bride.
Rahil, another family member, shares a similar experience of the fateful day. He has never witnessed such a bloodbath in his life in the peaceful village of Gagangir, he says.
“We were so busy with the wedding of my sister that we didn’t even realise terrorists had attacked the workers at the construction site just opposite our house. This area has always been peaceful. Not in my entire life have I seen something like this happening in my area,” said Rahil, who is in his twenties.
The deadly terror attack has not only left the villagers in shock but has also taken a heavy toll on the workers and security staff.
Kulbir Singh has been working as a private security guard at the construction site for over two years now. A resident of Rajouri district, he had just retired to his camp after performing his duty at the site when the barrage of gunshots resonated in the air.
“I was washing my uniform in the camp when I heard the firing shots. Initially, I thought it was the sound of firecrackers because there was a wedding on the other side of the road. But the moment reality hit us, my colleagues and I took necessary precautionary measures, including switching off the lights,” Singh said.
After a brief pause, Singh says that he has decided to quit his job and return to his native village. Several of his colleagues have also taken the same decision.
“Who would want to risk his life and do night duty here? I never thought that I would be going back so soon. Almost 11 people left the job and many more will do so in the coming days,” he said.
His colleague Ankit Dev has also called it a day.
Narrating the sequence of events, Dev says around 7.10 pm he was inside the mess when the sound of gunshots rang in the air. The staff, he said, presumed it was firecrackers being burst by the locals at a wedding in the village.
“The terrorists continuously kept firing. They even set one vehicle on fire. The driver of that vehicle somehow saved his life. I told my boss that I wanted to discontinue my job. My family also wants me back,” he adds.
Police and Army immediately cordoned off the area after Sunday’s attack, and a massive hunt was underway to track the attackers.
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