With tension between India and Pakistan escalating onWednesday, people living in villages along the Line of Control and theinternational border in Jammu province have started moving to safer places.
At many places in Rajouri and Poonch districts, villagerswere asked to be ready to vacate at a short notice after the Pakistan air forcereportedly bombarded some areas in these districts on Wednesday.
“Though tension along the international border is not thathigh, but people are in a shock and panicky and have therefore started movingto safer places,” Chaman Lal, a
resident of Chack Changa village in Hiranagar area, said.
He said the villagers have been asked to remain “under hardshelters during any air movements, and if tension escalates, carry onlyessential belongings and shift to temporary shelters, schools and governmentbuildings that are beyond Pakistan’s firing range”.
Lal said the administration has identified few governmentbuildings and community centers “for our evacuation but we haven’t been toldabout the evacuation timings yet”.
Vikas Bhagat, a resident of Jammu’s Suchetgarh, said: “Thefiring has actually taken place along the LoC. Along the IB, it wasn’t tooheavy, but just intermittent. But today’s surprising bombardment has sent shockwaves across the border areas.”
“The people are shifting to safer places in nearbylocations. I am shifting my parents, wife and two children to my sister’sresidence in Marina Sahib area near Jammu,” he said.
Meanwhile, the district administrations in Jammu, Samba andKathua said they have chalked out a detail plan for evacuation of border peoplein case of any eventuality.