Concern for border residents
Civilian safety is of utmost importance especially in those areas which are either close to the border or fall long the LoC. The importance of ensuring safety of civilians in these areas was proved when India and Pakistan engaged in a skirmish few weeks back.
Since we are faced with the problem of engaging with a rouge neighbour, we have to be even more watchful and implicit and adopt all such measures that help in securing the lives of border residents.
After the April 22nd massacre at Pahalgam and the initiation of Operation Sindoor against terror activities in Pakistan, 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 residents were allowed to return to their villages and homes as a military understanding between the two countries happened, the hostilities once again brought to the fore the importance of ensuring safety of border residents.
Ironically, eighty to 90 per cent of Poonch town had to be evacuated, besides dozens of villages in north Kashmir too were abandoned as Pakistan army resorted to targeting of civilian areas and their actions left many people dead and injured as well.
Notably, such situations once again brought into limelight the importance of underground bunkers for border residents. The underground bunkers are the only solution to the problems the border residents face when it comes to unprovoked shelling and firing by Pakistan army.
India shares a 3,323-km border with Pakistan, of which 221 km of the International Border (IB) and 744 km of the Line of Control (LoC) fall in Jammu and Kashmir.
On February 25, 2021, India and Pakistan announced the implementation of a renewed ceasefire along the borders of Jammu and Kashmir, which came as a major relief to the people living along the IB and the LoC.
India and Pakistan had initially signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, but Pakistan frequently violated the agreement, with more than 5,000 violations reported in 2020 — the highest in a single year.
The Centre initially sanctioned the construction of 14,460 individual and community bunkers for Rs 415.73 crore for border residents facing Pakistani shelling along the LoC and the IB in 2018-19.
While 7,298 bunkers were sanctioned for the population along the LoC in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, 7,162 underground bunkers got approved for villages along the IB in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts.
Later, the government sanctioned more than 4,000 bunkers to cover a more vulnerable population, including the areas falling in the north Kashmir districts of Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara.
Since the underground bunkers have proven to be very helpful for the people, the administration should ensure that all such sanctioned bunkers are finalised during peace time so that in case of any eventuality the border residents have something to fall back on.
