Devastated border dwellers demand shelter

Scars of the recent conflict are etched in the villages—damaged homes, splinter-pitted walls, shattered windows, bloodstains, and dead livestock reflect the destruction

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Devastated by intense artillery shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC), several border residents of hamlets in the Khour-Pargwal sector of the Jammu district are pleading for government help after losing their homes, livestock, and livelihoods.

With homes damaged and livestock lost, they are now urging the government to provide immediate shelter - roof over their heads, and long-term rehabilitation. The shelling followed India’s Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 civilian lives.

The recent shelling and drone strikes in Jammu killed 27 people and injured more than 70. Thousands have fled from the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border areas to seek refuge in government-run relief camps.

Kamla Devi, a resident of a border village, returned home with her brother only to find her house in ruins and their livestock dead. “Where would we live now? We were dependent on these animals. Now they are dead and our house is destroyed,” she said tearfully.

“We demand war. I came back home forcefully, despite my husband saying no. There is no work here now. Please give us a place to live. We are homeless,” she said.