JOIN US As tension escalates in the border due to Pakistani shelling, the Jammu and Kashmir government has sought the Centre’s help to build more bunkers for border-dwellers to take shelter.
In 2015, the ministry of home affairs had approved building 60 emergency bunkers at Rs 5 lakh each in the Jammu region to protect civilians from cross-border firing. Sources said the bunkers are at an advanced stage of construction, and the experiment is proving to be a success since a bunker can accommodate 20 people with facilities like cooking.
“The success of the experiment has prompted the Jammu and Kashmir government to request for more such bunkers along Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch to protect people living there from firing from across the border,” a source said.
They said the state government is vigorously pursuing the issue with the ministry after the recent Pakistani shelling in Nowshera sector targeted civilians.
Residents in border areas have been demanding building emergency bunkers in their villages since they are forced to flee their homes due to heavy shelling by the Pakistani troopers. They are forced to live in constant fear after nightfall as their hamlets come under heavy firing.
Most villages along the LoC and IB are within the range of Pakistani artillery firing. Official figures suggest more than four lakh villagers remain exposed to the danger of cross-border shelling.