*Several houses, crops damaged; cattle perish
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 14: Pakistan army today opened new fronts in Rajouri and Poonch sectors even as entire population from nine villages of Nowshera sector, located close to the Line of Control (LoC) shifted to safer areas including the migrant camps and houses of their relatives. While there was no shelling in Nowshera sector today, panic still prevailed among the villagers, who were putting up in forward areas.
Official sources told the Excelsior that almost entire population from nine villages, located close to the LoC and which bore brunt of Pakistani shelling yesterday as well as prior to that, were evacuated in buses and bunkers overnight and this morning while some of them reached the safer areas including the migrant camps on their own.
The villages, deserted by the people, included Khamba, Sarya, Bhawani, Kalsian, Anwas Bhandar, Manpur, Dhanaka, Khori and Ganiah, located close to the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district, where three civilians have been killed and half a dozen others injured during past four days.
Official figures revealed that 1200 people have been lodged in three migrant camps at Government Higher Secondary School Boys, Nowshera, Government Middle School, Bawali and Government High School Nonial while around 400 people have left for the houses of their relatives in safer areas from the villages, hit by very heavy mortar shelling by Pakistan army yesterday.
Indian side had given effective retaliation to Pakistan. However, details of casualties and damages suffered by Pakistan couldn’t be ascertained immediately.
All Government schools falling within five kilometers radius of LoC have been closed in Nowshera and Manjakote sectors in view of Pakistan shelling. Some of the Government schools have been hit by 120mm and 82mm mortars fired by the Pakistan army in Nowshera and Manjakote sectors.
Sources said the authorities had to press a fleet of buses and bunkers to evacuate the civilians, who were trapped in the forward villages in view of heavy Pakistan shelling. The buses going on evacuation operation were also targeted at Nonial yesterday. However, the evacuation operation was completed by this afternoon as there was no shelling since 7.45 pm yesterday. Apart from evacuation, some of the people reached the migrant camps on their own while others left for the houses of their relatives in safer areas.
Sources said majority of people from forward villages of Pukharni, Sher Makri and Numb in Nowshera sector, where intensity of mortar shelling was low as compared to other villages, have also left for the houses of their relatives in safer areas.
As per the official figures, 65 cattle have perished while 45 houses have been damaged, partial to severe–in Pakistan shelling in Nowshera sector. Apart from this, there has been heavy damage to crops in the forward areas.
At about 6.15 am today, Pakistan army resorted to heavy mortar shelling in Manjakote and Keri sectors of Rajouri district. Some of the mortar shells fired by Pakistan also landed in Tarkundi and Balakote areas of Poonch, bordering Manjakote sector.
There was heavy shelling at Tarkundi, Panjgrain, Nangal and surrounding villages on Manjakote-Balakote border and Chingus in Keri sector of Rajouri district. Three houses were damaged in Manjakote while three cattle perished. However, the shelling stopped around 9 am and the people didn’t migrate. Indian troops retaliated very effectively in Manjakote and Keri sectors silencing the Pakistani guns.
An official handout quoting Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said each migrant family in the camps has been provided with 11 kg ration apart from cooked food. It said the DC, SSP Rajouri Yougal Manhas, SP Nowshera, Atul and SDM Nowshera Harbans Kumar and other senior officers of the civil and police administration visited relief camps to help the migrants. It added that 25 buildings have been earmarked to function as relief camps.
Meanwhile, forced to flee their homes, cattle and ready to harvest crops due to frequent shelling by Pakistan, the residents along the LoC in Nowshera sector are batting for construction of ‘community bunkers’ in their villages.
For the thousands living in these vulnerable zones, fear creeps in when the Sunsets as their hamlets come under intense shelling by the neighbour’s army.
Mortar marks on walls of houses and shops in the area are a testimony to the brute firing by Pakistani army targeting the civilian population.
The border dwellers are now batting for construction of community bunkers to safeguard themselves from the heavy cross-border shelling, which have seen a spike since 2002.
Madan Lal (62) said he along with his five family members took shelter in an underground bunker set up by him near his house for 20 hours, before being ferried in a bullet-proof vehicle by police and housed in a camp in Nowshera.
“It was the worst shelling along LoC in Nowshera since 2002. Hundreds of mortar shells were fired by Pakistan, especially targeting civilian areas and hamlets. It was raining shells,” he said.
With fear and terror writ large on his face, the farmer said, “We fled our houses, leaving behind the cattle and ready to harvest crops to save our lives. We took refuge in an underground bunker near my house for several hours.”
His wife Sudha said, “The mud bunker near our house saved our lives as shells damaged our house. For border dwellers, such bunkers are like the bullet proof jackets.”
The couple said such bunkers could also help in keeping their cattle safe.
Jangarh residents–Rajan Choudhary, Mohinder and Suresh Kumar– also vouched for the usefulness of such bunkers for safeguarding lives.
They said community bunkers should be constructed in each and every hamlet dotting the Indo-Pak border.
“Our village Pukharmi was hit by over 70 mortar shells in just 10 to 15 minutes. A shell hit our house. My wife Akhtar Bi died in the attack,” 40-year-old Haneef, who was injured in the attack, said.
“If the Government would have set up a bunker, my wife would not have died. The Government has failed to keep the promise of setting up community bunkers for border dwellers,” he said.
Underground community bunkers have become like a “second home” for the border residents, with most of these being constructed by the locals on their own.
The decision to construct community bunkers was taken by the Union Government in December last year.
The State Government had in 2015 submitted a proposal to the Centre for setting up of over 20,000 bunkers at a cost of over Rs 1,000 crore in 448 border areas in the State.
The proposal was scheduled to cover a population of 4,02,455 living close to the border areas in districts of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch. The border dwellers also want the Narendra Modi-led Central Government to deal with Pakistan with an iron hand.
“Give them (Pakistan) a befitting reply so that they never dare to resort to even a single ceasefire violation in the future,” a border resident Puran Chand said.
After the Pakistani shelling, 270 people were evacuated from various areas along the LoC in Rajouri district to safer places.
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