Elderly accident victim dies after five-day battle for life in IIOJK
Jammu: Grief and anger swept through Banihal in Ramban district of In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir after a 65-year-old retired forest guard, who had been battling for life for the past five days, succumbed to his injuries at Soura hospital in Srinagar following a road accident near the Lamber Toll Plaza on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the deceased, Abdul Rashid Wani, son of Ghulam Nabi Wani and a resident of Ashar village, was critically injured on July 28 after being hit by a vehicle near the toll plaza. Despite intensive treatment, he breathed his last on Sunday.
The tragedy has deepened the sorrow of the Wani family, as Abdul Rashid’s younger brother Mohammad Shafi Wani 42 years has also been admitted to Soura hospital in a coma for the last six to seven months after suffering injuries in another accident in Banihal town.
The incident has triggered fresh resentment among residents of Ashar, Zenhall and Lamber villages, who said that the stretch between the Lamber Toll Plaza and Railway Chowk has become a “death trap” since the four-lane highway was commissioned nearly three years ago.
Locals said repeated requests for the construction of a pedestrian flyover or safe crossing have remained unfulfilled despite several assurances by the authorities. They said that at least four people have lost their lives while attempting to cross the busy highway in the area.
Residents urged the authorities to immediately provide proper pedestrian safety infrastructure, warning that more lives could be lost if concrete measures are not taken without further delay.
