TARN TARAN ATMs GO DRY

TARN TARAN: Villagers are rushing to banks, ATMs, arhtiyas, moneylenders, and petrol-filling stations.

The machines ran out of petrol, diesel, and cash in a few minutes. The villagers rushed to Patti and Tarn Taran towns, farmers carrying their goods on tractor-trailers, and the others looking for pick up. Evacuation is on, not only in the 10-kilometre radius of the border but also the entire district.

Panic is natural. The people of this district suffered a lot in the 1965 and 1971 wars. At nearly 150 villages, displacement has started again.

In 1965, Asal Uttar village, scene of a great battle, took a maximum hit. During the Kargil war, too, the villagers had to vacate their homes. “War doesn’t scare us as much as the thought of losing our business and houses,” said Tajinder Singh of Rajoke village. There aren’t enough buses for everyone moving out. All buses are overloaded. And the war is yet to start.

Nitin Middha of Jalalabad said: “The landmines planted in border villages during the 1999 Kargil war were defused after four years. The farmers were not able to till the land.”