17 days on, BRO machine operator still untraceable

Mandi, July 27

Lahaul and Spiti Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar said today that sniffer dogs of the NDRF would be engaged to trace the body of a machine operator of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

“On July 11, Pargat Singh (24), a native of Haryana and a wheel loader operator of the BRO, was working towards the Shinku La, 21 km from Darcha, for the restoration of the Darcha-Shinkula road. Due to a cloudburst around 4 pm, the machine along with debris flowed into a drain. Pargat’s body has not been recovered even 16 days after the incident. The rescue team continued the search using a drone and a metal detector today as well,” Rahul Kumar said.

Rahul Kumar said the body may have been washed away by the strong current of water or buried under heavy debris. He added that the team of the search operation recovered the victim’s ‘gamchha’ and lip guard near the machine today.

He said that sniffer dogs of the NDRF would be pressed into service to trace the victim’s body.

Pargat’s elder brother Malkit Singh, who is in the Army, said, “Pargat Singh was the youngest of three brothers and his marriage was fixed for November. Our mother has not been able to overcome the shock after receiving the sad news about Pargat.”