Constant firing and shelling of the border, both LoC and the International Border in J&K appears to be now the permanent feature of Pakistan’s anti India policy. It serves her designs. Firstly, the intention is to scare away the population living close to the border so that there is less or no obstruction to infiltration by the jihadis into our side to conduct subversive activities like attacking police stations and army camps. Secondly, they want to weaken the security system of this segment of the border and thus pave the way for deep inroads into Jammu province for the militants and jihadis. In this way they want to encircle Jammu region. At the same time, Jammu is witnessing demographic changes as well, and this all has the potential of endangering security of the region. Pakistan seems to have succeeded in achieving the first objective of scaring away the border population because a large number of border dwellers, harassed by unrelenting firing and shelling by the enemy, have been forced to leave their homes and find safe places to which they have shifted their families and their livestock. In this scenario it becomes very easy and safe for the infiltrators from across the border to sneak into our side and carry out their subversive acts.
Security planners have, for quite some time, been concentrating on building bunkers for the border dwellers so that during the firing and shelling spree from Pakistani side, which is now almost a regular feature, they take shelter in these bunkers. Since these bunkers are not too far away from their dwelling places, the people have no need to migrate fully or partially from the border areas. This has been found a viable solution to the problem and accordingly, the Ministry of Home Affairs had taken some steps in the direction of building some bunkers. The design and the site selected for building some bunkers was carefully studied. Two options were before the relevant authority, viz. individual and collective bunkers. Both were tried. The affected people preferred individual bunkers for reasons of safety and privacy. Though a number of collective bunkers have been built but now the thrust was on individual bunkers, In September last, the Home Minister Rajnath Singh paid a four day visit to the State and visited forward areas especially Nowshera in Rajouri district because at that time Pakistan had resorted to heavy shelling of the border area which the Indian troops responded adequately. He gave verbal assurance that funds would be provided for the construction of a large number of bunkers along the border so that the affected population will not have to shift to far off places.
The Union Home Ministry has given nod to Rs 400 crores for construction of 19,000 individual and 4700 community bunkers in five border districts of Jammu region. Though most of the bunkers will be constructed in Jammu district the rest will be for the districts of Rajouri, Poonch, Samba and Kathua. The urgency of construction of these bunkers needs no emphasis because the Pakistani shelling and firing keeps no calendar. The Home Ministry has conveyed its displeasure to the State movement for not taking any step in the direction since September when the Home Minister had made a commitment that funds would not be any problem. The State Government should have taken up the job and not wasted three precious months knowing that Pakistani Rangers can strike at any time and put the lives and property of thousands of border dwellers into peril. However, the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu, when contacted, said that he had not received any information in regard to allocation of funds for the task of constructing bunkers and as such he was not in a position to make any statement in this regard.
This notwithstanding, the Home Ministry has given its nod and there should now be no obstacle in the way of starting the work of constructing individual bunkers. This is a task that cannot be and should not be delayed at any cost because human lives and precious livestock are involved.
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