The Hindu : Fear lifts on the Line of Control

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 30, 2003

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National

Fear lifts on the Line of Control

By Shujaat Bukhari

Photo: Nissar Ahmad

Soldiers maintaining vigil along the Line of Control in Uri on Saturday.

WEAK BRIDGE LOC (URI) NOV. 29. It was a different Id for thousands of residents along the Line of Control, with the absence of gunfire and a relaxed atmosphere, following the ceasefire announcement by the Governments of India and Pakistan.

"This is the first Id in the past 13 years we have celebrated without fear,'' said Bilquees Begum of Udoosa, the last village on the Indo-Pakistani border here.

As the guns are silent on both sides, the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road gives a different look. With no fear of shells landing from across the hill, where the Pakistani posts are visible, the travel up to the last point, 114 km from Srinagar, is easy. At Chokus Post, marked by a barrier beyond which any movement towards the Pakistani occupied Kashmir (PoK) is fraught with danger, as the road is dotted with mines, the jawans are relaxing in the pleasant sunshine. "Bahut acha lag raha hey (we feel good),'' says a soldier who has been on tenterhooks for the last 13 months since his posting here. That does not mean that the guard has been lowered. The troops are on alert to foil infiltration, though this is not the preferred route for militants to sneak in. "We have not seen any infiltration, but the shelling has been a regular feature here," says Naib Subedar N.K.S. Rangawat. Sepoy Sadashiv Gadade hopes to get a longer leave.

The smiles are back on the faces of soldiers and residents. At Lalpul, the last point where a passenger bus from Uri town makes its halt, over two dozen people from nearby Isham, Dalunja and Dardkot villages wait to board the bus. "We are very happy as the conflict brings only miseries to civilians,'' says Mohammad Nazir of Isham adding, "we have suffered a lot, our houses were damaged, people were killed and above all we lost peace of mind." In his village with a population of 1200 several houses stand damaged.

In the neighbouring Sultan Daki village, two children died recently in the shelling. Samandar Khan, panch of Dalunja, says their land had been taken over by the Army since 1990 and the entire area mined. No compensation was given.

According to Mohammad Aslam, numberdar, civilians who had suffered in recent years had not received any compensation from the State Government. "It is only the Army which has been helping us.''

For the first time, the people in Gwalta had the benefit of electricity when a small power house was built with the active support of the Army and inaugurated in October last.

The hapless residents are jubilant over the developments, but Army officers have their fingers crossed. "It is a wait and watch situation,'' a senior Army officer told The Hindu. "But we have no reason to be pessimistic as the ceasefire is in force on both the sides.

The real test of Pakistan's sincerity will be on stopping infiltration. The work on upgrading the road leading to Muzaffarabad from Uri is in full swing. "This indicates that something positive is going to happen,'' says Mukhtar Ahmed, a shopkeeper in Uri.

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