Himachal’s tribal villages tense after Indo-China faceoff

SHIMLA : The hum of Chinese choppers is growing louder and more and more Indian Army vehicles are passing by. The border villages in tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts in Himachal Pradesh are now tense over the last few days after the buildup of Indian and Chinese forces on the Line of Actual Control.

The army and the ITBP have restricted the movement of shepherds in the high hills even as additional army units are being moved to the mountainous terrain along the international border, say local villagers. Armoured vehicles can be seen now at Sumdo, the junction between Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur.

China’s People’s Liberation Army is also reportedly increasing its activities along the villages bordering HP. Units have been deployed at Shipki La village and in Tunzuk, a small town on the border .

Old timers say this is the first time since the 1962 Indo-China war that they have seen such a buildup of the armies of the two nations, reveals Norbu Shoiya, former panchayat pradhan of Namgia village, located just 10 km from the Chinese border.

“Villagers in the border areas have already suffered because of the Covid-19 lockdown. The local business community has been dealt a hard blow. We are only praying that there should not be a war,” says Hishey Negi, president, Kinnaur Indo-China Trade Association.

Namgia is also a trading point for cross-border trade with China through the Shipki La pass.