Arunachal: Bihar Man’s Body Recovered After 3-Day Search at Siang-Yamne River Gorge in Arunachal
NDRF, SDRF, and police teams battle rain and steep terrain to retrieve body of 32-year-old Uma Shankar from Pongging tourist viewpoint.
PASIGHAT- After three days of an intense search and recovery operation, authorities have finally retrieved the body of a young man from Bihar who tragically fell into a deep gorge at the Siang-Yamne river confluence in Arunachal Pradesh.
The victim, identified as Uma Shankar, 32, originally from Gaya district, Bihar, and working as a contractual Assistant Manager at the India Post Payment Bank in Dhemaji, Assam, slipped into the gorge on October 2 while visiting the popular Pongging tourist viewpoint with friends.
Shankar’s body was first spotted on Friday, lodged on a tree branch nearly 160–170 meters below the viewpoint and about 30–40 meters above the riverbank. The retrieval efforts, however, were delayed due to darkness, lack of equipment, incessant rains, fog, and dangerous terrain.
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On Saturday evening, at 6:21 PM, a joint team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (12th Battalion, Itanagar), and police personnel from Pasighat and Mebo successfully recovered the body after a day-long struggle.
Mebo Police Station Officer-in-Charge Akai Chama briefed the media, stressing the immense challenges faced due to slippery, rain-soaked rocks and poor visibility. He also issued a stern warning to tourists to exercise extreme caution at Pongging viewpoint, which he described as highly risky for outsiders.
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East Siang Superintendent of Police Pankaj Lamba, who closely monitored the operation, confirmed that the body will undergo postmortem before being handed over to the family.
The tragic incident has reignited safety concerns at Pongging viewpoint, a site that has witnessed repeated accidents. Public leaders, including Mongol Yomso, have appealed to the administration of East Siang and Upper Siang districts, as well as the state government, to install protective fencing and safety measures for tourists.
What should be a breathtaking viewpoint has once again turned into a site of tragedy. Authorities and local leaders are now calling for urgent safety infrastructure to prevent future accidents at Pongging.
