1,100 evacuated from Rajouri after Pak army resorts to heavy shelling
‘WAR INFLICTS PAIN ON THE POOR ON EITHER SIDE OF THE BORDER’ GROUND REPORT More than 2,694 families, comprising 10,042 people, have been affected due to incessant shelling. Two people were killed on Saturday, besides 10 others have been injured and 65 liv
JAMMU: Pakistani army violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir early on Sunday, damaging buildings and forcing evacuation of nearly 1,100 border dwellers, following which Indian troops ‘retaliated strongly’.
Around 6.45am, the Pakistani troops started shelling using long-range 82 mm and 120 mm mortars, besides firing from small arms and automatic weapons, defence spokesperson Lt Colonel Manish Mehta said, adding Indian army posts retaliated strongly.
This is the fourth ceasefire violation by Pakistan in four days and the second in Rajouri district in two days.
Rajouri deputy commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said fresh ceasefire violation has been reported in Chitibakri area of Chingus in Rajouri. “More than seven villages have been affected,” he said.
Police and district officials evacuated 1,114 people from areas along the LoC to relief camps. “Chhotibakri village in the Doongi area was bombarded with more than 30 shells near habitations. No loss of life or injury has been reported. In the Tarkundi area, 14-15 shells were fired but no loss was reported,” said the DC. “We have shifted 298 families in five relief camps in Nowshera. Eight villages of Nowshera have been affected by shelling which include Khamba, Sarya, Bhawani, Kalsian, Manpur, Danaka, Khori and Ganya,” he added.
Fifty-one schools in Nowshera sector have been closed for an indefinite period while 36 in Manjakote and Doongi zones have been closed for three days, affecting 4,600 students, he added.
Two civilians, including a minor girl, were killed and nine people, including four soldiers, were injured on Saturday as Pakistan pounded 35 villages and Indian posts with mortars along the LoC in Rajouri.
NOWHSERA(RAJOURI):“This mindless shelling heaps miseries and pain on innocent people on either side of the Line of Control (Loc). Instead of getting into a mad race for military supremacy, India and Pakistan should improve their dismal economies,” says 104-year-old Inderjeet Singh of Jhangar village in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Into his twilight years, Singh hopes that better sense prevails upon the two neighbours and the ongoing shelling comes to an end, following which people can return to their homes.
Speaking to Hindustan Times at a relief camp set up at the government higher secondary school here, Singh, who has seen the bloodbath following the partition in 1947 and has fought the wars of 1965 and 1971, says, “There is already enough of bloodshed and ugly skirmishes on the border. For the sake of their citizens, both the countries should work out a solution to their problems, including the Kashmir issue.”
“Wars and conflicts only cause pain and agony to the poor people on either side of the border,” he says.
His niece Satnam Kour, 65, intervenes and says: “We have seen wars. The ongoing shelling has forced us again to flee our homes and take refuge at this relief camp. Earlier, it was our grandparents and now its us. After us, our next generation will be subjected to shelling and firing. It will go on like this...no good will ever happen to the people living on the Indo-Pak border.”
Savitri Devi of Jhangar Khamba said though the administration has opened the school for them and has been providing them meals, life is hard in the relief camps.
“Studies of our children have again been affected and our cattle back home are unattended. Harvesting of wheat has also been adversely affected. Our lives have become miserable,” she said.
‘WE LIVED IN FEAR AS THEY RAINED BOMBS ON US”
BHAWANI(NOWSHERA): As HT raced towards Jhangar village along the LoC, smoke could be seen billowing out of a jungle. On moving a little further, we saw entire slopes ablaze.
At first, we thought this was due to the traditional agricultural practice in the region wherein farmers burn stubbles of harvested crops to make the ground ready for the next crop cycle. However, Neelam Devi of Bhawani village informed us that the fire was due to the indiscriminate firing from Pakistan.
Pointing towards a hill she said mortars fired by Pakistan have set ablaze the jungle.
“They rained bombs on us .... we are very fearful,” she said and added that she and her family had no option than to stay back.
“Wheat has yet not been harvested and we have cattle too. Besides we also fear for the lives our small children,” she said.
Krishan Lal, her husband said on Sunday morning when there was no firing from Pakistan, he shifted his three children to a safer place in Nowshera.
“Death stalks us all the time. We are just sitting ducks for the enemy. We can put our life on stake but not that of our children. Life has become very cruel here on the border,” he said hurriedly.
ALONG LOC, JHANGAR KHAMBA RESEMBLES A GHOST VILLAGE
JHANGAR (NOWSHERA): At the first glimpse it resembled a ghost village. As we drove into the village the eerie silence subsided and some harried faces of men, women and children could be seen.
We were in Jhangar Khamba, a village barely 2.5km from the LoC, where shelling from Pakistan on Saturday claimed two lives. It reflected a grim picture of death and destruction.
“Following the death of 51-year old Tufail Hussain and his 13-year-old granddaughter, Asiya Bi, on Saturday, almost the entire village has been vacated. Those staying behind will leave before dusk,” said 55-year-old Baldev Raj.
He recalled how the Pakistan Army rained 120 mm mortars on the village for over 12 hours from on Saturday.
“We kept ourselves locked inside our houses and prayed the God to stop the shelling. Tufail and his granddaughter died when they ran out of their house to save themselves from a mortar shell that had exploded on the roof of their house. As they were trying to reach another house in the vicinity, another mortar shell exploded next to them. Tufail and his granddaughter were killed and his wife Zaitoon Begum sustained serious injuries,” said Baldev.
Sanjeev Choudary, an army man on leave, said most of the families have left the village.
“I have never seen such intense shelling by the enemy. It’s like a war zone now,” he said, advising us to remain on guard.
Choudhary, whose house and shops were also damaged significantly in the shelling on Saturday said the deaths of Tufail and his granddaughter has panicked the villagers.
Throughout Saturday, Pakistan fired around 30 mortars on this village alone.
“It was a nightmarish experience,” he said before leaving the village in a car with his family headed to a relative’s place before sunset.
Though the village hasn’t witnessed any fresh firing since 7:30 pm on Saturday, fear was evident on the face of everyone around.
Apart from Jhangar Khamba, over a dozen other villages like Makri, Sher, Sarya, Bhawani, among others, wore a deserted look.
FOURTEEN BUSES, 7 MINIBUSES, 11 TATA MAGIC AND THREE TATA MOBILE VEHICLES WERE PRESSED INTO SERVICE FOR EVACUATION