PANAJI
A pall of gloom enveloped the island‘village of Chorao on Sunday morning as word spread that 38‘year‘old Umesh Shirodkar had gone missing during a pre‘dawn clams (kube) collecting expedition.
Shirodkar, a resident of the Saude locality on the island, had set out with companions around 4 am to the Divar side of the Mandovi river. By the time the group prepared to return, they realised he was missing and panic spread quickly.
An eyewitness said the men searched frantically but could not trace him. The news travelled across the village like wildfire, leaving family and neighbours anxious.
Old Goa police, Fire Services personnel, and local volunteers launched search and rescue operations through the day. Canoes combed the river, while villagers gathered along the banks hoping for news. Yet, till late evening, Shirodkar remained untraced.
The incident has shaken the close‘knit community where clam-fishing is a routine, traditional livelihood activity, often carried out in the early hours but for Chorao, Sunday ended heavy with sorrow.
