Akhnoor (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 8 : Families living near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector have been forced to leave their homes once again due to ongoing cross-border firing and to take shelter at safer places.
Ajit Singh, a resident of Palatnagarh village located just 200 metres from the Pakistan border, recalled past experiences. "Bullets have hit our homes. In 2016, seven walls of my house were damaged. The government gave us 4.5 acres of land, and we built new homes with their help," he said.
"When firing starts, people leave the village. Once it stops, they return to the farm. Even animals get scared," he said.
Singh said they were recently advised to evacuate. "Yesterday, we met the BLO. They told us to leave immediately. We walked until we saw a vehicle and spent the night here with our children," he said, referring to their current temporary shelter.
He recalled being displaced during the Kargil war in 1999. "We were sent to camps then. Later, we were told this place would be safe. Now, five or six families from my village stay here."
Singh said more than 20 people, including six families, took shelter last night. "It was cold at first but better now," he added.
The local administration is monitoring the situation and has arranged for temporary relief for the displaced families.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that 13 civilians had lost their lives in Poonch while a total of 59 people, 44 of them in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir sustained injuries due to ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC),
The intense shelling by the Pakistani army along the LoC came in retaliation for the May 7 'Operation Sindoor' in which India's armed forces targeted a total of nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Pakistan has been resorting to unprovoked small arms ceasefire since the night of April 25-26.
After 'Operation Sindoor', the Pakistan Army continued its series of ceasefire violations by targeting civilian areas in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Officials said the shelling caused panic among villagers and damaged several houses. Shelling by Pakistan damaged civilian infrastructure, shattered window panes and cracked walls.
Residents in border villages in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri returned to their homes on Thursday morning after they were forced to flee their homes in panic, seeking safety in the wake of the intense shelling by Pakistan.
According to the villagers who returned today, the shelling has caused significant damage to residential properties, with people fleeing the areas along with their whole families as well as livestock.
"We left our homes in fear, and so we fled in the night during the shelling. There were two buildings which got damaged. Two shells also fell on my house. So we fled from here. The whole village was deserted, and some people also took their livestock with them," said Sailesh Kumar, a resident of a border village in Rajouri.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army have proportionately responded to the unprovoked small-arms and artillery guns firing by the Pakistani Army across the Line of Control (LoC) during the night of May 7 and May 8, as the Pakistan Army resorted to firing in areas opposite in Kupwara and Baramulla districts and Uri and Akhnoor sectors in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian Army is closely monitoring ceasefire violations by Pakistan.