Srinagar: Residents of villages located near the Line of Control (LoC) in three districts of Kashmir are leaving their homes in droves as Pakistan has intensified its shelling of civilian areas over the last four days.
Nearly 1.1 lakh people living along the LoC in Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara districts have moved to safer places as dozens of houses and government buildings have been hit by Pakistani shells.
“It is not easy to leave behind a place where you have spent all your life. I would not leave my home if the threat to my life and that of my family was not so high,” Irshad Ahmad Khwaja, a resident of a border village, told PTI.
Khwaja has shifted to a relative’s house in Baramulla and does not expect to face much difficulty.
“I know we will be taken care of but I am still very sad. I have lived in this house all my life,” he said as he looked back at his home one last time.
Mubeen Ahmad, a resident of Boniyar in the Uri area of Baramulla, said he was not sure whether his house would survive the current wave of cross-border shelling.
“We have seen cross-border shelling since the 1990s but it has never been this intense. These days, shells are landing at places that were earlier considered safe,” Ahmad said.
He said another cause of concern for house owners is the possibility of thefts and break-ins.
“Unscrupulous elements have always used turmoil to carry out their nefarious designs. I hope that it does not happen during this calamity,” he added.
The evacuation started after Pakistan resorted to unprovoked shelling on civilian areas along the LoC in response to the missile strikes carried out by Indian armed forces targeting the terror infrastructure in the neighbouring country.
One woman has been killed, while 20 people have been injured, in the cross-border shelling that began on May 7.
More than half of the evacuations have been carried out in Kupwara district’s Karnah and Machhil sectors, followed by Uri in Baramulla and some areas of Bandipora.
Authorities have also made arrangements for the evacuated people at various makeshift shelters.
In Baramulla, the district administration has turned several educational institutes into temporary accommodation facilities.
“Our staff worked round the clock to prepare the facilities. These families have lost so much. We want to ensure that they have a safe place to stay and access to basic necessities,” Rashida Maqbool, the principal of the Hanifa Model School Sheeri, said.
Nodal Officer for Relief and Rehabilitation Reyaz Ahmad Ganai said all the departments are working in tandem to ensure basic amenities for the migrants.
“From the PDD ensuring electricity to the health department arranging medical camps, every stakeholder has contributed. The local community’s generosity has been overwhelming,” Ganai said.
