As the Lok Sabha election campaign for the first phase of polling on April 11 is on its last legs, hundreds of members of the Gujjar community, living in the direct line of Pakistan Rangers fire along the International Border in Jeora farms area of RS Pura sector, are eagerly awaiting their turn to participate in the festival of democracy.
Facing brunt of the border shelling for past several years, life was never so easy for these residents in the area till a few months back.
Every time Pakistan Rangers violated ceasefire agreement in the area, their small hamlet came on the radar. During torrents of shelling from Pakistan, they scurried for imagined safety. In repeated incidents of cross-border firing, several lives were lost and livestock suffered fatal injuries leading to huge losses.
All these years they were at the receiving end and struggled a lot to receive adequate compensation from the Government. Their repeated reminders and passionate appeals to authorities didn’t provide the required succour.
However, for the last one year, their lives have turned around. At present, life is going on smoothly under the “concrete safety”. To secure their lives the Central Government constructed 38 individual and 3 community bunkers in the Jeora farms for about 210 families.
Jeora farms Sarpanch Liyaqat Ali told The Pioneer, “For several years, we were facing the brunt of cross-border firing, but the Narendra Modi Government has provided us with all the basic facilities in our village. We want him to become Prime Minister again.”
He said, “This Government has enhanced the compensation per animal from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000. We can claim the compensation amount for total number of animals lost.”
Liyaqat said, “Under Prime Minister Awas Yojna (PMAY-G), 56 ‘pucca’ houses have been constructed for those families who had lost their temporary houses in mortar shelling during last year”.
Liyaqat is not the only one happy with the performance of the Modi Government.
Alam Hussain, engaged in the business of dairy farming told The Pioneer, “This Government fulfilled all its promises and provided us with safe housing and bunkers in our own village. Modi is a true leader, we will vote for him.”
Another villager, Ghafoor Ali said, “In the past every time I stepped out of the house I was worried about the safety of my family. But now the Government has constructed bunkers in our village and provided us with ‘pucca’ houses. He said, “We feel secure even while we continue to live in the direct line of fire of Pakistan Rangers”
Mustaq Ali, a student said, “Due to border firing we used to vacate our houses. Our studies also suffered a lot but now we are feeling secured after bunkers have been constructed in our village”.
Liyaqat Ali, village sarpanch told The Pioneer, “Our next target is to upgrade primary school in the area to a middle school so that children can study up to Class 8 in our own village.” He said, the Government has black topped the road connecting our village with RS Pura. Now we do not face any problem as travelling on the road has become easier.
“In the past, we faced many hardships while shifting injured persons, during border firing, due to poor condition of the road,” he added.