Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Oct 2: After the migration of people from border villages of Samba district and Pallanwalla and Khour sectors in Jammu district during last two days following the tension on International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) after the surgical strikes by India in PoK on September 29, fresh migration has started from border belts of Pargwal and Kanachak areas of Jammu district and forward areas of Hiranagar Sector in Kathua district today.
According to sources, over 8000 people have migrated from Pargwal and Kanachak sectors and taken refuge in various school buildings and community halls in Muthi, Domana, Jhiri and Ghou Manhasan as the Union Home Ministry has issued the directives to Chief Ministers of border States to evacuate people from to evacuate people from International Border and LoC to 10 kilometers distance for their safety and security as their should be no civilian casualty during the border shelling from across. Besides, 2800 people have migrated from various villages of Hiranagar sector in Kathua, district.
The Government has already ordered the closure of schools to provide refuge to border migrants. Besides the schools, the border people have been provided shelter in community halls and ashrams at various places to ensure their safety and security.
In view of the Union Government’s directives and the eerie calm prevailing on border and LoC after yesterday’s ceasefire violation by Pakistani army who targeted Indian posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Akhnoor tehsil, people living in forward areas don’t want to take any chance and hence migrated to safer places.
These migrants said that as per past practice they can’t trust Pakistani troops who every time on previous occasions of border skirmishes targeted the civilian areas, their cattle and houses.
As per reports, 450 families each from the Kanacak and Pargwal sectors have taken refuge in Government Higher Secondary Schools of Domana, GHSS, Muthi and Government Middle School, Muthi today.
Besides, hundreds of people from Kanachak villages have taken refuge in a Sarai at Jhiri and some community halls. In addition to this, hundreds of people have gone to their relatives houses for their safety and security.
Reports said mostly people deserted their houses during the evening apprehending shelling during night hours from across and after taking shelter in the community halls and schools they return in the morning to look after their cattle, sheep and standing crops in the fields.
Reports said that silent migration has started taking place from Kanachak, Gigriyal, Garkhal, Raipur Kanachak, Dab Suda, Nanyal, Singhpur and other border villages in the Pargwal and Kanachak Sectors and majority of them had taken shelter in their relatives houses.
The migration has also started from the forward areas of Hiranagar Sector in Kathua district today and 300 people from the villages of Chak Lal Din and Paharpur in Hiranagar have taken shelter at Banyari and Khanpur in the same belt while 2500 people from different areas of Hiranagar have taken shelter in the houses of their relatives.
Meanwhile, the authorities, have opened free langers in the schools for migrants and today Minister of Health and Medical Education, Bali Bhagat visited the Government schools at Muthi and Domana where the migrants from border belt have taken the refuge.
The Minister who was accompanied by the Additional DC Jammu and other officers after taking the stock of the situation issued instructions to the authorities to ensure that the migrants are not put to any problem and they should be provided all basic facilities of life like drinking water, power, free langer etc.
He also assured all sort of help to the migrants and said Modi Government is more concerned for the welfare and safety of the border people.
“This is not the first time that we have been uprooted from our houses and villages but it has become a routine affair for us”, said octogenarian Smitra Devi of Pargwal putting up at Domana School with other members of her family. Smitra who had seen migration umpteen times since 1965 Indo-Pak war said “it has been our fate as every time when there is tension on borders, we are put to heavy loss in shape of damage to standing crops, houses, cattle and some times even human lives are also lost in the shelling”.
But for the national cause we are ready to sacrifice every thing. Pakistan is a rogue State which is not dependable as it always backstabbed India in past too”. “This time the Government should teach Pakistan a lesson so that for decades together it should not dare to look towards India”, she said, adding entire border belt is with government as they too want to get rid of this problem once for all instead of being uprooted every time.
“We have seen in the past how Pakistan backstabs us and targets civilians, even as they have stopped firing since last night, but we don’t want to take any chance,” said Surat Singh, a resident of Pallanwala village in Akhnoor.
The residents of the villages along the border say that they are worried about their future as their standing crop would get damaged if they don’t tend to it in the next few days.
“People are concerned here. Yesterday, Pakistan targeted civilian areas in our sector. After that, we have decided to shift our children, female members and elders to safer locations,” said Gudu Ram, a resident of Pargwal village in Khour tehsil.
He said the male members who stay back in their villages during the daytime take shelter in the Government set up camps at night.
“We have to take care of our livestock, so we return to the village in the daybreak and then come back in the camps during night. We have shifted our family members to our relatives’ houses in Jammu city,” Ramesh Singh, another resident of the village said.
He said “we are most concerned for our cattle and sheep and goats as we can’t get pastures for them outside our respective villages. Some people are totally dependent on the earnings from milk and during the migration they are put to hardships but we have to bare this all as it has been out fate accompli, headed. .
He said the people are worried about the education of their children as they had to abandon their studies midway to relocate to safer locations.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand has urged the Government to provide all basic facilities to the border migrants. Expressing his concern over the plight of border migrants after escalation of tension between India and Pakistan, he said the State government has not taken adequate steps for the settlement of these hapless people.
Tara Chand, who visited number of villages in Khour talked to them, also expressed his sympathies with them. He said these people are facing scarcity of ration, medicare and have also been deprived of basic facilities of life. He also criticized administration for not making arrangements for their advance settlement of border people.
Prominent Gujjar leader, Shamsher Hakla Poonchi has also expressed concern over the plight of border people who he said have to become victims of tension of borders always. He demanded that these people be provided land and permanent shelters be constructed for them so that they can take shelter during the border tension there. Hakla demanded that border people should also be provided all facilities and a special recruitment drive be launched to provide them jobs in para military forces and police to guard their areas from infiltrators.
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