After receiving widespread flak for remaining absent on ground zero, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday trekked mountainous Badhaal village, 55 kms from Rajouri district headquarters, to express solidarity with the bereaved families whose 17 members, including 13 children, died under mysterious circumstances in the past one-and-a-half month.
Omar accompanied by National Conference local MLA Javaid Iqbal Choudhary and cabinet colleague Javed Rana visited the graveyard and offered ‘Fateh' (special prayers) to the deceased.
Omar expressed sympathies with the bereaved families including Mohd Aslam who lost his six children and his maternal uncle and aunt who adopted him in the past week. Aslam and his wife are the only survivors in his family after the tragedy.
During his brief stay in the village, Omar also interacted with the village elders and gave them a patient hearing.
Interacting with the village elders Omar said, "I never imagined that I would find myself in Pir Panjal, facing such a tragic situation. The pain and sorrow of the grieving families are truly unimaginable".
Omar also assured the members of the grieving families that his government would extend all possible help and take all necessary steps to address the situation at hand. He said that Badhaal villagers are not alone in their grief—we stand with them during this challenging period.
Earlier on Monday, a high-level inter-ministerial team headed by a Director rank officer of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), launched a massive exercise and collected food and other samples to ascertain the cause of death due to a mysterious illness.
District authorities in Rajouri recently sealed a spring in the village after its water tested positive for some pesticides/insecticides.