Ahead of Diwali celebrations people generally renovate their houses and decorate it with buntings and wall graffiti. But none of this is happening along the International Border in Jammu this season. In contrast, everywhere walls with bullet marks, broken windowpanes, mortar splinters and tall tale signs of destruction greet visitors.
With ‘belligerent’ Pakistani troops not mending their ways, the miseries of border residents are also getting compounded with each passing day. The local economy of the area has taken a major hit as most of the markets in the area remain shut during the day and farmers are not able to supply fresh vegetables to local markets. The villagers who look forward to Diwali season and set up temporary shops and supply milk products to main markets in Jammu are also feeling the pinch.
The farmers are worried too. They are not able to harvest their standing crops in the wake of prevailing situation along the border. The labourers, mostly from outside the State, are not ready to visit areas close to the border as they too fear for their lives due to tension in the border area. The educational institutions have been closed in the areas to make arrangements for accommodating villagers.
According to official BSF sources, late Thursday night Pakistani Rangers targeted at least 16 border out posts (BOP) of BSF in Arnia, Ramgarsh, RS Pura and Akhnoor sector injuring 10 civilians and forced several hundred people to shift to safer places during the night. The worst-affected area was Garkhal village of Akhnoor sector. It is here that Pakistani guns pounded the civilian areas with mortars and 81 mm rockets around 7 pm. The firing continued till 11 pm and caused maximum damage in the village.
The intensity of the fire was nerve wrecking and spread panic among the villagers, especially elderly, women and children. Timely intervention by the BSF men, however, saved the day for these villagers as they were shifted to Government High school building in Rajpura. Shells landed in the houses of people and on village streets. The four walls of several houses wore the maximum brunt of fire. Cars parked in front of the houses suffered damages.
Sharda Devi, who had escaped to safety late Thursday night arrived early morning in the village to salvage valuables. As she stepped inside she was broken. The entire house had suffered extensive damage due to Pakistani shelling. Outside the streets several young boys narrated the sequence of event.
Kuldeep Sharma said, “When the small arms firing started around 7 pm we went on with our routine house hold chores. But suddenly heavy fire started and a few mortars landed in our village.” Meanwhile, sensing the mood of the border villagers, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday visited several affected border areas and assured full support of the Government to the border residents. He called on injured in the GMC Hospital and wished them speedy recovery.