Drowning incident puts J-K administration in tight spot

Srinagar: The failure to trace a Kashmiri schoolboy, who drowned in River Jhelum on Friday, has put a question mark on preparedness of the administration to tackle such emergencies.
Dozens of onlookers watched as river police used outdated techniques to search 16-year-old Shakir Ahmad Bhat, now presumed to be dead.
It took civil administration more than a day after the incident to call in trained Navy divers to join in the rescue operation. 11 divers from the Navy have been pressed into service.
The administration, itself, has no trained divers and the required equipment.
“Our role should have been to save the boy, but we had no manpower and equipment available. We have it available in the Dal Lake,” Coordinator of Disaster Management Cell, Aamir Ali said.