Rehabilitate border residents
War brings miseries and for those who have been bearing the brunt of two hostile neighbours for decades, the uncertainties at the border are a grim reminder that their lives will be hit and hit hard.
The past week or so was again a phase when the border residents across Jammu and Kashmir faced the ire of shelling and firing by Pakistan army which resulted not only in human loses but left huge damage to the infrastructure and other facilities.
The border residents had not only to flee their areas and settle at places that were secure from shelling but they had to leave their places at a time when agricultural activity had picked up due to the arrival of spring season.
Though the border skirmishes and hostility ended and the authorities have allowed the border residents to return to their villages and homes as a military understanding between the two countries is in place now.
Ironically, eighty to 90 per cent of Poonch town is vacant. Same is the case in other border areas including areas in north Kashmir where people had no other option than to flee from their places and head for safety.
Now that the residents are heading back their shattered places which were once their dwellings are to be raised up again and this needs lot of hard work and other inputs as well.
Even authorities have also called for a detailed assessment of the property damaged in Poonch and other areas which were worst hit by the Pakistani shelling between May 7 and 10.
Notably, twenty persons, including some security personnel, lost their lives and over 50 others were injured in cross-border shelling in Poonch district alone with a large number of houses, religious places and commercial buildings damaged along with dozens of private vehicles.
What is needed as for now is that the administration needs to look at the issue with rapt attention and provide an immediate relief package to the families that have taken the hit due to the intense and careless shelling across the border.
The shelling along the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir has been a phenomenon that the people have been exposed to for many decades now.
During the peak of hostilities between India and Pakistan army the residents have to pay a price and every time such an incident takes place their lives are hit and they have to fear for the lives of the near and dear ones.
This time around the situation proved very dangerous as Pakistan army targeted civilian areas with ruthless and brute force that left families devastated. The damge has been so extensive and huge that it will take years for the people to get their lives back on the track.
The uncertainty at the border is affecting the lives of the residents there to a great extent and as people suffer deaths and injuries, the suffering hits them lifelong in terms of physical and psychological trauma.
Besides, the unfavourable situation destroys infrastructure, including homes, roads, bridges, and public buildings and disrupts trade, commerce, and industry, leading to economic instability and poverty.
And this is where the government must intervene and help the border residents in all possible manner to restart their lives once again.
