Poonch digs in, wants bunkers on priority

Nearly 2 months after the town weathered its worst cross-border shelling, locals want administration to enhance repair relief, focus on buttressing bunkers while ceasefire holds

- Mir Ehsan

POONCH: Nestled amid lush mountains along the Line of Control, the picturesque town of Poonch that bore the brunt of the worst cross-border shelling from Pakistan in five decades during Operation Sindoor between May 7 and 10, is slowly healing as residents pick up pieces of their shattered lives.

Of the 16 civilians killed in the Pakistani shelling in Jammu and Kashmir, 13 were from Poonch. They included four children. Almost two months on, 90% of families that had fled the town are back home but fear lurks as damaged houses bear mute testimony to the shelling. With the ceasefire holding, the residents want the administration to focus on buttressing bunkers on priority over other projects.

"Jaan hai to jehan hai (If there's life, there's the world)," says Abdul Jabbar, a septuagenarian who has lived in Poonch town all his life but has never seen such heavy shelling as he did in May. "We didn't have any shelter or underground bunker. Now everybody wants it on priority as hundreds of shells landed in our town. We have seen the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971 besides the Kargil conflict, but this time was entirely different. We helplessly witnessed death and destruction at close quarters."

The first community bunker is being constructed in the premises of the deputy commissioner's (DC) office in the heart of Poonch. Land is being identified for building more such community bunkers in the town. "The work has already started on one and the other bunkers will also be constructed at a fast pace," said an officer privy to details.

Inadequate compensation The hustle and bustle may have returned to the border town, but most houses damaged in the shelling tell a different story as repair work is yet to start. On its part, the government has disbursed relief cheques worth ₹16 lakh to the families who lost members in the cross-border shelling, besides giving government jobs and financial aid to rebuild damaged houses.