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Border Firing : Of ghost villages and lurking fear

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Children look at the wall of their house damaged by the mortar shell after firing from the Pakistani at Kanachak sector on Thursday
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Thirty-two-year old shopkeeper Nischant Singh shudders with fear when he recalls the day when her two aunties living next door were killed by the Pakistani shells in Chellari village of the Samba sector along the International Border (IB).

Singh, his wife and two kids could not bear the trauma and abandoned his home and fled instantly to a community centre at Kalibari village, which acts as a makeshift camp for the displaced border residents.

"It was a painful experience to see two women dying. They had gone to their homes in the morning to look after their cattle. They were having tea when one shell landed in their compound killing mother-in- law on the spot. Her daughter in law succumbed in the hospital at Jammu," said Singh.

Since then 70 families of the village deserted their homes and shifted to relief camps. "Almost all the villagers are rearing cattle. One has to feed and milk them regularly. So one of the family members stays put to take care of the cattle," he said.

It is not the first time that Singh and his family had to migrate to escape the Pakistani shelling. Some years ago, Singh had to leave in similar circumstances but the tension had eased quickly.

"We have been witnessing firing since childhood. But mostly it was on the borders and occasionally a villager used to get wounded in the field. Houses were never targeted. This time fear is at a much higher degree and houses are not safe," he said.

Singh's case is just a tip of iceberg of the fear and pain encountered by the residents living along the borderline. The dusk brings miseries and people jostle to hitch a ride from their villages to the shelter homes. From bikes to tractors to bullock carts, the villagers do not mind riding any of the available mode of transport to leave the place before Pakistan starts pounding the villages.

The villages which used to buzz with activities after dusk becomes ghost hamlets with only cattle honks renting the air. All the lights are switched off and only the sparks of the gun shots and shells are visible in the dark.

"There has been so much of shelling that mortars are landing in our homes. On Wednesday night it was the worst of all. Therefore we fled along with the family and are living in the makeshift camps," said Rachpal Kumar, a resident of Abdullia village in RS Pura sector.

Bachan Lal, sapranch of Abdullia, Chanduck and Larian villages said around 500 to 600 people are living in the camp. "There is firing and that is why people have fled their homes," he said.

Divisional commissioner of Jammu, Shantmanu said eight people were killed and 75 others were injured in the cross border firing during the last four days. "As per reports, only one victim is suffering from serious injuries, while others with minor injuries have been discharged," said Shantmanu.

The cross border firing has also led to the killing of 51 cattle and around 53 animals have been reported injured.

"Various camps have been set up in government buildings which includes 10 in Jammu district, housing 3,000 people, seven in Samba district which is housing 2,000 people and 16 in Kathua district housing 2,000 people," Shantmanu said.

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