In the Line of Duty
UNSUNG HEROS
‘At Lal Chowk we felt rowing through a ghost town’
Daanish Bin Nabi
Ill fate – that is the best way of describing Kashmir and
its people whom we know as government employees. It is a rare find when a high
ranking officer in Kashmir put his life at risk to safeguard others. However, putting
aside this old school culture KAS officer, Mohammad Ali Lone, aged 51, was
among the very few officers on ground rescuing people and tourists who were stranded
in various hotels in and around Lal Chowk during the
On September 7 and subsequent days, Lone and his team
carried out the rescue and relief operations relentlessly, bringing more than
850 people to safety. “We saved almost 850 people. We rescued these people from
different parts of Srinagar city. Among these around 203 were non locals
(Yatris) from Gujrat, Andara Pradesh and Maharashtra,” said Lone. In rare of
rare cases in Kashmir, we see a government employee working at a government office,
but Lone has set an example for others not only by doing his duty but also managing
his schedule for voluntary work with Help Poor Voluntary Trust which operates at
all the four major hospitals of Kashmir. “My parents always taught me to help
the needy.
After finishing my studies in 1988, I started a small trust
in Ushkara Baramulla, which now takes care of more than 50 families in my
village and its adjacent areas. I have
now entrusted this responsibility to other noble souls,” said Lone. A religious man, Lone says, “I am already involved
in social service, and I believe social work is a part of our deen, I know the situations
in distress.” Deciding against the odds,
Lone decided to save stranded people and tourists with the help of other local
volunteers at a time when his own house was submerged in Hyderpora. He rescued and saved people on a raft boat
which he managed to get from Delhi. “One
of my nephews Amir Dagga got a rafting boat from Delhi, on his own, and it was blessing
for us that we got in touch with Shujaat Bukhari sahab of Rising Kashmir. He got his staff members and fraternity
involved in rescue operation.” During the
rescue efforts, Lone had to face many difficulties. Among the stranded people
were an old husband and wife, at Exchange Road, who were not able to wade through
the water. “They were too old to cross
the flooded water. I along with Mumtaz Awan had to get down from our boat, we
carried all three employees of BSNL at Exchange Road on our shoulders to get
them out,” said Lone. Lone says that
the most difficult rescue his team made was behind Congress Office of “a 70
year old non-Muslim lady, who was all alone at her home on Exchange road except
her dog. She was trapped inside and we had to carry her first on our shoulders,
then on a wooden boat and finally we managed to get her on our own boat.” Lone also saw the bustling Lal Chowk turn to
a ghost town. He says when we reached Ganta Ghar (Clock Tower) in boat, Lal
Chowk was still flooded with more than eight feet of water on roads. I still remember there was
pin drop silence near Ganta Ghar when we
stopped our boat for a brief pause. We were very frightened. It was like we
were rowing through a ghost town and not Lal Chowk.
Recalling his rescue efforts, Lone said he experienced some
horrible scenes during the rescue work in ravaged areas of city. He continued with the rescue operation for first
seven days and later he and his friends started relief and medical camps for
the flood victims, that was after September 17.
Lone and his team also distributed relief among people at Tengpora and
provided tents to the victims. Also, medical and relief camps were put in place
for the flood affected people of Pattan, Palhalan, Sumabl, Sonawari, Shutra Shahi, Sopore, Nishat, and many other places.
While praising citizens of Kashmir and accrediting local
youth, he says, “It was the first time when I saw journalists, intellectuals, lawyers
and people of varied professions and occupations rescuing people, and above all
our valiant local youth. It was an overwhelming experience for me,” said Lone.
Author is Online Editor of Rising Kashmir, can be reached at daanishnabi@gmail.com
Published on October 22, 2014.
