Dividends of peace: Over 13k shelling-proof bunkers constructed for civilian population along LoC 

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir government has constructed more than 13000 shelling-proof bunkers in civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district.

The construction work was put on the fast track after the border ceasefire last year. Of the sanctioned 15,000 individual and community bunkers, over 13,000 have been constructed so far. Work is in progress to complete the remaining bunkers.

The design and layout of bunkers have been made in such a manner that they will withstand the shells. The highlight of the bunkers is the double RCC slab which is covered with five feet of sand and mud so that the shells do not penetrate.

“Most of the 15,000 bunkers have been built. Rest are in different stages of construction. Individual bunkers are for families. Community bunkers are for the cluster of houses. People are very happy,” Inderjeet Singh, deputy commissioner, Poonch, told The Kashmir Monitor.

On  February 25, 2021, Indian and Pakistani armies agreed to defuse the tension and maintain peace on the sensitive Line of Control (LoC). The decision was taken after the Director Generals of Military Operations of both countries held discussions on the hotline. The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Control and all other sectors in a “free, frank, and cordial atmosphere.”

 Before the ceasefire, the shelling across the borders was causing a huge loss of the life and property of the dwellers.

In fact, the ceasefire first came into force on November 26, 2003, when the then Pakistani premier Zafarullah Khan Jamali announced a unilateral truce on all three frontiers — 772 kilometer Line of Control (LoC), 192-kilometer International Border (IB) and 122-kilometer Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) at Siachen glacier. New Delhi also responded positively.

For the first three years, the ceasefire was more or less observed in letter and spirit by both countries. The border skirmishes started in 2006. Around 15 Indian security personnel were killed in the ceasefire violations from 2009 to August 2012.

Figures presented in the parliament reveal that there were 5,133 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) in 2020, in which 46 people lost their lives. Till January 28, 2021, 299 violations were reported on the LoC. Figures reveal that there have been 3479 ceasefire violations along the Indo-Pak border in 2019.  In 2018, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 2,140 instances of ceasefire violations with an average of eight cases daily. In 2017, 31 people — 12 civilians and 19 security forces personnel — were killed and 151 others suffered injuries