The 22-year-old man from a tiny south Kashmir village embraced death on Thursday to save an Amarnath pilgrim from falling down a cliff, his relatives said. The yatri was riding his horse when Khan slipped into a crevice.
“He (Imtiyaz) was walking his horse when he realized that the yatri was sleeping. He seemed to be falling over from the saddle. He rushed to alert him and shook him up. As he was trying to wake him up fully, he lost his balance and fell down the cliff,” Nazir Ahmad Khan, his maternal uncle told News 18 from Chattergul village where the family is in deep mourning. He fell 300 feet below to the shock of fellow horsemen and pilgrim.
Ghulam Nabi Lone, president of the pony association, Pahalgam, said Khan tried to save the yatri who was dozing off on the horseback and seem to fall off. “He woke him up but fell asleep himself- forever,” Lone said, sounding upset.
The body of the young horseman was retrieved with great difficulty by Jammu and Kashmir Police mountaineer Rescue team. Ram Singh, who heads MRT said his boys retrieved him from the crevice by sending men down on ropes. “We pulled him and tried to resuscitate him. We took him to Panchtarni medical unit on a stretcher but he could not make it,” Singh told News 18.
Relatives and fellow horsemen said they picked up a group of pilgrims from Chandanwari and in the next two days moved through the challenging passes like the Pissu top, Nagakoti, Mahagunus, Papibal, and crossed Panchtarni – the last base camp. But near Sangam where the track is slippery and narrow and people have to pass one by one, his luck ran out.
“Except for the two years when pandemic shut off the yatra, this was the third time he went up in the hills to earn a living,” Nazir said, adding no one in the village believes he could slip to death. “He was a strong boy. How could he die like this?” he wondered.
Khan’s death has filled his family with grief and a spectre of a dark future looming large. Nazir says Khan used to support his wife, eight-month-old infant, his parents, and four siblings.
“His father is partially blind and cannot do hard labor. His three sisters are yet to be married. How will the family survive now?” he asked. He said the family’s burden is likely to fall upon the Khan’s younger brother – all of 17.
The family is hoping the government would pitch in with aid at the earliest. Nazir said the tehsildar of the area had come on Friday and left quickly after offering condolences. “The family is in need of quick compensation.”
Naseer Ahmad Parra, tehsildar, Shangus, said he is visiting the family later today. “In fact I am carrying with me a cheque for one lakh rupees. We have released ex gratia for the next of the kin,” he told News 18.
Parra said he wasn’t aware whether the horse and pony owners or palanquins-bearers were covered under any insurance.
An official from Pahalgam said people who serve yatris provide exemplary services. “They look after the pilgrims with care. This is a specialized job,” he said.
Like Khan, there are many local heroes who put their lives on the line to save non-local guests.
Shakeel Ahmad did not care for his own safety and dived into a roaring stream to rescue a drowning tourist in Tarsar lake near Pahalgam. The young mountaineer who had conducted expeditions to all great alpine lakes died young and met his creator.
In 2019, Rouf Ahmad Dar, a 32-year-old rafting guide, gave his life to save a group of people from drowning in the gushing waters of Lidder at Pahalgam.
Likewise, 55-year-old Shikarawala Ghulam Mohammad Gurroo died saving a group of tourists from drowning in Jhelum in 2016.
The Shri Amarnath Board (SASB) manages all aspects of yatras like health, hygiene, langars, lodge, and board of the pilgrims. The board is also responsible for the safe conduct of the pilgrimage. In case of natural disasters like the one that happened last week in which 17 pilgrims died, the board is responsible for the rescue and relief of the pilgrims. It also provides compensation to the deceased. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said the kin of the deceased pilgrims were given a relief of Rs five lakh.
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