Srinagar, Nov 15: The morning after the deadly explosion inside Nowgam Police Station turned the usually quiet Wanbal stretch into a makeshift newsroom, a blur of cameras, tripods and satellite vans lined bumper to bumper as journalists waited through the cold morning for official word and a glimpse of inside from behind sealed cordons.
The blast site remained completely out of bounds, fortified by multiple layers of police barricades. All lanes leading toward the Nowgam Police Station stayed shut through the day, forcing reporters and photojournalists to set up camp hundreds of meters away, near the main Wanbal junction.
By noon, the scene, resembled a full-fledged outdoor newsroom: reporters live-streaming from roadside spots, photographers climbing embankments for distant visuals and stringers pacing between parked OB vans, chasing every minor update.
For many, it was the continuation of a sleepless assignment that had begun the previous night. Several media teams had been on the ground from Friday midnight, when the powerful blast ripped through the Nowgam Police Station, working through the freezing night, filing updates and visuals until 3 AM, before returning early in the morning to resume coverage.
“Most of us haven’t slept. We have been here since last night,” said a video journalist, resting his camera against a tripod near the barricade. “The lanes are sealed; we can only report from this stretch. Still, we can’t leave, every small movement matters.”
Another senior journalist said he had been working on the Nowgam story till late night and sent his copy to the office around 1:30 a.m. “I was working till around 1:30 in the night and early in the morning I had to file another story. My head was literally spinning, I had to take a ‘paracetamol’ before I could return to the site again,” he told KNO with a smile while his eyes were full of sleep.
Officials present at Nowgam, said the access to the Nowgam Police Station remained restricted as police, CRPF and forensic teams continued examination and collection of evidence throughout the day.
As evening fell, the glow of camera lights and OB van flood-lamps still lit up the Wanbal road, reflecting the fatigue and persistence of field journalists.
The area turned chaotic again when the lifeless body of deceased tailor Mohammad Shafi Parry reached Nowgam, drawing hundreds of locals, mourners and reporters rushing to capture the emotional scenes.
When the body entered Wanbal lane, it was met with cries, grief and a surge of cameras. Locals, relatives and journalists surrounded the coffin, some climbing walls and rooftops to cover the farewell of the man whose death had tored everyone in entire Nowgam locality—(KNO)
