Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): After a long wait, people living in shelling prone border villages, close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the three northern districts of Kashmir– Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora– have heaved a sigh of relief, as the construction of 140 underground community bunkers is in full swing.
Of the 140 bunkers, 50 will be constructed in Rampur sector (Uri/Boniyar) in Baramulla district, 30 in Gurez in Bandipora district and 60 in Karnah sector in Tangdhar area of Kupwara district.
Officials said that all these bunkers are being constructed in the border villages that are close to the Line of Control in a bid to prevent the loss of life during the intensive mortar shelling by Pakistan, which of late gained pace resulting in damage to life and property.
People living close to the LoC in Kashmir had been demanding community bunkers in their villages as Pakistan continues to violate ceasefire.
The community bunkers were sanctioned in early 1990’s by the then government after which a few were constructed and then the process was left mid-way. Since then, there had been a huge demand from the people living close to the LoC in three northern districts of Kashmir as many of them had decided to migrate, given the frequent exchange of firing between the India and Pakistan armies.
Officials said that the construction for underground community bunkers has already started which will comprise of two rooms and a washroom to ensure the safety of masses during cross LoC shelling.
They said that the construction will be completed this year. A top official in the Gurez area of Bandipora district said that the construction of 30 underground community bunkers is underway and at least 15 have been completed, and are ready to use while the remaining are being constructed on a fast track basis.
In Kupwara district, the officials said that the construction of around 120 bunkers was sanctioned but the absence of proper ground space has forced the administration to club the individual bunkers into underground community bunkers.
“The construction of 60 full-fledged underground community bunkers is underway in the villages close to LoC,” an official said.
A top official said that on a similar pattern, the construction of community bunkers is also underway at Keran sector. Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Uri, Riyaz Ahmad said that the construction of community bunkers is underway and 50 will be completed in the first phase while the cost of a single bunker is Rs 10 lakh.
He said by the end of September, they should be able to complete the construction of 50 community bunkers.
“We have also proposed the construction of 175 individual bunkers but haven’t floated the tender yet due to some technical issues,” he said.
It may be recalled that border shelling has killed hundreds of people in Kashmir and Jammu region since 1990, and left scores handicapped. Besides, houses and livestock worth billions of rupees have also been damaged due to the shelling by Pakistan in J&K in the past 30 years.
-ARK
