Last week, when India and Pakistan began to exchange fire across the international border in the RS Pura section of Jammu district, Sreshta Devi locked up her home in the village of Treva in the area and fled to safety with her family. She is now at a relief camp in a government school at Salehar. The camp has 370 families, all of whom had to leave their homes along the international border.
Every day, a few men return to the village from a relief camp to feed the cattle. “Around 1,900 people, including 400 children, have currently taken refuge here at the camp,” said Sunny Kumar, a patwari, or village revenue official. “We provide them food and shelter to sleep.”
Fifty-year-old Devi, her son, daughter-in-law and grandson have been living in the camp for almost a week days now. “All of us sleep here and we get food too,” she said. The loss is not limited to damage to their homes. There is also a great deal of concern for their crops, which are likely to be damaged by the shells.
“Ten years ago, when the fencing was built at the border, our wheat crops were divided,” complained Devi. “Now we only have a little bit of land left now on our side and that too is facing damage.” A woman sitting next to her asserted that her own rice fields have been damaged.
Basmati basket
The RS Pura are is renowned as a centre of fine basmati rice, producing around 550,000 tones annually. The crop is grown on around 35,000 hectares of land in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts. But with the increase in firing between the two countries, several paddy fields have craters. Fields in both India and Pakistan have been affected.
On the morning of October 8, a barrage of splinters hit Shaku, 22, from Jeorafarm in RS Pura, while he was around a kilometer away from the border. Shaku was returning to home to check on his buffaloes, paddy fields and house, after spending a night at a temporary home in a high school. The splinters injured him, his wife, son and sister. All of them are now being treated at a Jammu hospital. Six of his buffaloes and 10 goats were killed.
Life after shelling
Though the fields are still lush, life has changed dramatically for residents of the region since the shelling began. They have lost a portion of their crops, their cattle is dying, shops are shut, and schools are closed. Labourers say it is hard to find work when shells and bullets fall from the sky.
“All of our work has stopped now,” said Suresh Kumar, 30, a labourer, pointing the damage caused to his home by a Pakistani shell that fell through his roof. “We don’t know what is happening.”
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference visited several affected villages along the border last week. “Such large-scale loss clearly indicates they [Pakistan] have changed their strategy, from engaging in cross-firing with the forces on this side of border to specifically targeting civilian areas,” Abdullah told reporters.
Abdullah has also directed the administration to construct community bunkers and establish camps for cattle in the villages along the border.
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Every day, a few men return to the village from a relief camp to feed the cattle. “Around 1,900 people, including 400 children, have currently taken refuge here at the camp,” said Sunny Kumar, a patwari, or village revenue official. “We provide them food and shelter to sleep.”
Fifty-year-old Devi, her son, daughter-in-law and grandson have been living in the camp for almost a week days now. “All of us sleep here and we get food too,” she said. The loss is not limited to damage to their homes. There is also a great deal of concern for their crops, which are likely to be damaged by the shells.
“Ten years ago, when the fencing was built at the border, our wheat crops were divided,” complained Devi. “Now we only have a little bit of land left now on our side and that too is facing damage.” A woman sitting next to her asserted that her own rice fields have been damaged.
Basmati basket
The RS Pura are is renowned as a centre of fine basmati rice, producing around 550,000 tones annually. The crop is grown on around 35,000 hectares of land in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts. But with the increase in firing between the two countries, several paddy fields have craters. Fields in both India and Pakistan have been affected.
On the morning of October 8, a barrage of splinters hit Shaku, 22, from Jeorafarm in RS Pura, while he was around a kilometer away from the border. Shaku was returning to home to check on his buffaloes, paddy fields and house, after spending a night at a temporary home in a high school. The splinters injured him, his wife, son and sister. All of them are now being treated at a Jammu hospital. Six of his buffaloes and 10 goats were killed.
Life after shelling
Though the fields are still lush, life has changed dramatically for residents of the region since the shelling began. They have lost a portion of their crops, their cattle is dying, shops are shut, and schools are closed. Labourers say it is hard to find work when shells and bullets fall from the sky.
“All of our work has stopped now,” said Suresh Kumar, 30, a labourer, pointing the damage caused to his home by a Pakistani shell that fell through his roof. “We don’t know what is happening.”
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference visited several affected villages along the border last week. “Such large-scale loss clearly indicates they [Pakistan] have changed their strategy, from engaging in cross-firing with the forces on this side of border to specifically targeting civilian areas,” Abdullah told reporters.
Abdullah has also directed the administration to construct community bunkers and establish camps for cattle in the villages along the border.