J&K Teen Dies as Ambulance Stuck on Muddy Road; Engineer Suspended
A 17-year-old girl from a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district died on Friday while being taken to hospital, after the vehicle carrying her remained stuck in mud for nearly three hours on a road that serves as the only link for several villages. The district administration has suspended a government engineer and ordered an inquiry into the incident.
According to officials, the girl, a resident of Methyani village, had fallen seriously ill and was being taken to Government Medical College (GMC), Rajouri. The vehicle became stranded at Chak Methyani following a mudslide. Although volunteers managed to extricate the vehicle, the girl's condition deteriorated and she died on the way to the hospital.
The incident occurred on the Chak Methyani-Panglar-Kotecharwal road, which was washed away during last year's monsoon and had been temporarily restored. The same stretch had been hit by another mudslide about two weeks ago, rendering the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) road unusable, officials said.
A report submitted by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Kotranka, stated that the girl had been suffering from an illness for nearly a month and had earlier been admitted to Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu. She was discharged about two weeks ago, but her condition worsened again, prompting her family to take her to GMC Rajouri.
The ADC's report said the blocked road caused a delay of two to three hours and found that the stretch remained in "extremely poor condition" due to landslides and deep ditches, making it unfit for vehicular movement. It also noted that residents of nearby villages continued to face difficulties in transporting patients, food grains and fertilisers. Rajouri, located in the Pir Panjal region, is prone to landslides during the monsoon, and many villages depend on such roads for essential services.
The report also revealed that the executive engineer of PMGSY division Rajouri had informed officials through a WhatsApp group that the road had been restored and was "trafficable". However, a subsequent verification by the ADC found otherwise. Taking note of the report, District Development Commissioner (DDC) Rajouri Abhishek Sharma ordered the immediate suspension of the Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), PMGSY Sub-Division Kalakote, who was in charge of the road project, pending an inquiry.
The DDC said the failure to restore the road despite repeated directions indicated "prima facie negligence and non-compliance with official instructions". The executive engineer has been asked to explain why disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against him for allegedly misreporting the road's status and failing to ensure its timely restoration. His salary has been withheld pending consideration of his explanation. The Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC), Rajouri, has been directed to conduct a detailed inquiry and submit a report within seven days.
