DESPAIR AT DATELINE POONCH

Widespread fears that ceasefire shaky and shelling may resume ● Families recall four days of horror ● Locals lament lack of bunkers, war preparedness ● Hotels open in Rajouri amid uneasy calm but wear a deserted look

- FAYAZ WANI @ Poonch

A sense of both despair and hope is palpable in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, which were worst hit by the Pakistani mortar and artillery shelling after Operation Sindoor, as life is slowly returning to normal.

The markets in Poonch and Rajouri towns, which remained closed till Sunday after four days of Pakistani shelling, are open now. The shopkeepers and their workforce have returned after the pause in India-Pakistan conflict. An eerie calm prevails with no sirens and explosions. The buzz is missing in the markets even as normal activities have resumed. Businessmen and the common people are still shell-shocked.

"For the first time Poonch town witnessed shelling from Pakistani troops. During the earlier India-Pakistan wars, be it 1965, 1975 or 1998 Kargil war, Poonch town had remained unaffected," said 60-year-old Javed Ahmad, a shopkeeper. "Poonch town was covered on all sides by Pakistani troops and they resorted to unprecedented shelling. I think 200-300 artillery shells might have landed in the town in two days. Fear-stricken residents left for Jammu and other places to save themselves and their families," he said.