Frantic car ride to hunkering in hotel basement, how my father's advice got me through Poonch shelling
Our journey began on 8 May night with an 18- to 20-hour drive to the Poonch district, Jammu. As dusk approached, we decided to take advantage of the remaining daylight to visit Poonch city. However, around two to three kilometres before the city limits, we heard a loud 'boom' sound, followed by another, frighteningly, near our car.
I embarked on the challenging journey with my colleague Sagrika, aiming to report from the ground and witness firsthand the impact of the escalating tensions between the two nations on civilians.
New Delhi: One of the most intense experiences of my career, undisputedly and enduringly, was and will be covering Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district amid the India-Pakistan conflict in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Scared, our driver immediately stopped and turned off the headlights. Sagrika, visibly shaken, urged him to take a quick U-turn. As we sped away from the city, she was calling her parents and chanting prayers, 'Om Namah Shivaya', 'Jai Shri Ram', and 'Jai Mata Di'. I held her hands for some minutes to reassure her, before I started recording videos of our path despite the dark. As our car hurtled away from Poonch city, we kept hearing several blasts.
Considering locals had advised us against entering Poonch city after dark, we decided to spend the night in Surankote, considered a safer area. Surankote, we were told, had not experienced shelling since 1971. However, at 11.30 pm, while I was charging our recording equipment before preparing to rest, I heard a deafening blast near the hotel, followed by another.
Panic ensued as hotel staff and guests ran through the lobby, chanting 'Allah Allah'. The hotel owner suggested we move to the basement, which he deemed the safest spot. Nearly 30 people, including women and children, huddled together in the two-room basement, all terrified by the unexpected shelling in Surankote.
The next morning, I contacted a local photographer in Poonch city to assess the situation. He informed me the shelling had ceased 15 minutes ago and could resume at night. Seizing the opportunity, Sagrika and I headed to Poonch city again. On reaching our destination, we started interviews with the locals. However, we could not continue for long. The only reality of Poonch city amid the conflict, relentless, heavy shelling restarted, forcing us to evacuate quickly.
Throughout this assignment, the concern in the voice of friends and family members who called me was palpable. Messages poured in, urging us to stay safe and reminding us that our role was to report the news, not become it. During a call with my father, I explained that we had spent the night in a hotel basement due to nearby shelling. His calm response was, 'Take good pictures.'
This experience underscored the unpredictable nature of conflict zones and the resilience required to report from such places. The situation in Poonch and Surankote remains volatile, with civilians bearing the brunt of the hostilities. As journalists, we have a responsibility to shed light on the ground realities during a conflict, keeping the world informed about the human cost of it.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Fleeing shells to a terrifying night in a basement in 'safe' Surankote—my experience covering Poonch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Making efforts to improve tourist experience: Omar
The Jammu and Kashmir government is making efforts to woo tourists, including steps to improve their overall experience, chief minister Omar Abdullah said, addressing the collapse of the sector following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. He was at the start of 'Rally for the Valley: Let's go to Jammu and Kashmir', a tourism revival initiative by the Travel Agents Association of India(TAAI). 'Tourists have a journey or an experience. That they go home and tell others about it and I think there are lessons we've all learned over the past few months,' Omar, who is also the tourism minister, said in his speech on Wednesday evening. Tourist arrivals in J&K dipped to near zero after the attack at Baisaran meadow that claimed 26 lives, 25 tourists and a local. The Valley also saw an exodus of tourists immediately after the attack. The industry took a further dip amid the military confrontation between India and Pakistan from May 7 to 10. Omar reiterated that the J&K government is using this time to improve infrastructure and overall visitor experience. 'I have already given instructions to the cable car corporation to upgrade the gondola in Gulmarg so that capacity is increased, ticketing is improved and the overall experience is enhanced. The same applies to other tourist attractions in J&K,' he said. He extended his gratitude to the TAAI delegation and its president Sunil Kumar for visiting Kashmir. 'Let me express deep gratitude, not just from my side or from the government's side, but on behalf of everyone connected with tourism in Kashmir—thank you for being here and for giving us this boost,' he said. On the Pahalgam attack, he emphasised the importance of learning from the past. 'It's hard to talk about the future without looking back to understand how we got here. The tragic incident on April 22 in Baisaran must never be forgotten,' he said. On the improvement in connectivity, he highlighted the addition of rail services to the region: 'Today, Kashmir has a railway network. You were able to cross the highest railway bridge in the world—which is a testament to the hard work of engineers and the companies that built it. You crossed the only cable-stayed railway bridge in the country. And you did this in a region of extreme challenges,' he said.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- New Indian Express
Top travel agents across India visit Kashmir to revive tourism post Pahalgam attack
SRINAGAR: As tourism in the Valley has been badly hit by the Pahalgam terror attack, leading travel agents from across the country are visiting Kashmir to help revive tourism in the region. At least 70 members of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), India's premier and largest travel trade association with over 2500 members, are on a three-day visit to Kashmir as part of the initiative 'Rally for the Valley' from June 10-12. TAAI members have held interactions with local tourism stakeholders, including travel agents, hoteliers, houseboat owners, entrepreneurs and government officials on how to revive tourism in Kashmir again. The TAAI's held an event in a Srinagar hotel yesterday which was attended by local tourism stakeholders and also Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Speaking on the occasion, CM Omar said the government is working to improve the experience of tourists coming to J&K, maintaining that tourists who come to Kashmir should want to return. "Tourists have a journey or an experience. They go home and tell others about it. I think there are lessons we've all learned over the past few months," Omar said and reiterated that J&K government is using this time to improve infrastructure and overall visitor experience. The CM said, the TAAI delegation's visit under such circumstances is a true reminder of the association's commitment to J&K and their relationship with the region.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Connecting bridge: on Kashmir, India and the Chenab Rail Bridge
'Kashmir to Kanniyakumari' is a figurative expression to denote the geographical expanse of India, from its northernmost point to its southern tip, and for the first time in history these are connected by rail. With the inauguration of the 272-kilometre Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project which has been 28 years in the making, the Kashmir Valley has been connected to the national rail network. The tough, unsurmountable topography of the Himalayas challenged the engineering capabilities of the Indian Railways, but it has come out with flying colours. The engineering marvel, the Chenab Rail Bridge, that stands 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower, is the world's highest railway arch bridge at 359 metres above the riverbed. Spanning 1,315 m, it will endure wind speeds of up to 260 km per hour and has been built to last 120 years. Nearby, the Anji Khad Bridge, rises boldly across the rugged terrain as India's first cable-stayed railway bridge. Towering 331 m above the riverbed and stretching 725 m across, it is anchored by 96 high-tensile cables; 8,200 metric tonnes of structural steel went into its construction. Built at a cost of ₹43,780 crore, the USBRL link witnessed drilling of mountains to set up 36 tunnels that span 119 kilometres and 943 bridges through ridges and mountain passes. Kashmir's decades of geographical isolation have finally come to an end. The Vande Bharat Express between Srinagar in the Kashmir region and Katra in the Jammu region, which was also flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cuts the surface journey to three hours between the two points. Later this year, a scheduled direct train service between the national capital New Delhi and Srinagar will allow commuters to touch base in just 13 hours compared to over 24 hours in the past. The Vande Bharat Express, a long-distance high-speed service, is bound to end the psychological barriers, multiply the development dividend and act as a game changer for the economy of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The train service has brought renewed hope to the region not long after the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 pushed India and Pakistan to a short conflict. India's 'Operation Sindoor', against terror infrastructure across the border, saw Pakistan ending the ceasefire agreement and targeting civilians, leaving 18 dead and over 1,500 houses damaged. While inaugurating the train service in Katra, Mr. Modi rightly described the rail link as 'a symbol of a new, empowered J&K'. The bridge will go a long way to bring the people of Kashmir closer to the rest of India.
