Srinagar: Livelihood concerns have hit the villages along the International Border in Jammu after Pakistan violated the ceasefire last week, injuring two BSF troopers and a civilian.According to officials, Pakistani rangers fired at Indian posts on the night of October 26, and some of the mortar shells landed in residential areas in Arnia and RS Pura sectors, some 30 km from the capital Jammu.The shelling, which continued until morning on October 27, triggered panic among the villagers in the Arnia and RS Pura sectors along the International Border, forcing many of them to flee their residences.Located in Arnia tehsil of Jammu division, Trewa, which is predominantly an agricultural village, shares a nearly five-km border with Pakistan.Officials said that some crops and at least five residential homes were damaged in the village due to the ceasefire violation, which was the second such incident in 10 days and the fifth since India and Pakistan entered into a fresh truce on February 25, 2021.On October 17, two BSF personnel were injured in unprovoked firing by Pakistani Rangers in the Arnia sector.The border residents in Jammu and Kashmir have been living in peace since the two nuclear-armed countries revived their 2003 ceasefire agreement. But the latest incidents have put the fate of the agreement in peril.While the anguished residents are cleaning up the underground bunkers that had fallen into disuse since 2021 when New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to uphold the ceasefire agreement, basmati rice farmers are facing fear and uncertainty in the middle of the harvest season.The shelling has revived the fears of an escalation in violence along the International Border in the coming days. Locals said that farmers are afraid of venturing into their paddy fields to harvest their crops, putting their livelihood at risk.“Hundreds of farmers are involved in basmati rice cultivation. They work day and night for six months. The shelling could not have come at a worse time for them as they are in the middle of the harvest season,” Balbir Kaur, sarpanch of Trewa village in Arnia told The Wire over the phone.She said that the government will help the farmers in harvesting their crops without any delay by procuring more manpower, “We will cover 50% of the harvest cost as a goodwill gesture for alleviating the suffering of farmers,” Kaur said.Sarpanch Balbir Kaur interacting with locals after the recent ceasefire violation which damaged five residential homes in Trewa village. Photo: By arrangementAccording to reports, locals in Arnia have already started preparations for more difficult times amid the ongoing political uncertainty across the border following the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister.Following the unprovoked firing last week, residents of Trewa and adjoining villages in Arnia and RS Pura have cleaned up dozens of underground bunkers built by the government, where they take refuge when the situation heats up between the two countries.The district administration in Jammu has also banned the sale and use of firecrackers during marriage ceremonies and other celebrations to prevent any confusion or rumour-mongering amid the simmering border tensions.“Pakistan can’t be trusted. If they do it (mortar shelling) once, they will do it again. For me, the immediate priority is to help the farmers in harvesting their crops. Besides, we are also holding regular meetings with the residents so that they don’t feel ignored,” said Kaur, who is also a member of the Kisan Advisory Board.On Tuesday, a patrol party of Border Security Forces detected and defused an unexploded mortar shell which was fired by Pakistan Rangers on October 26. The BSF has already lodged a protest with Pakistan Rangers over the incident.“Our farms and houses are not safe unless there is a flag meeting between the armies (of India and Pakistan). Once it happens, there will be some hope that the situation will calm down,” said a local who did not want to be named over the phone.Although the situation has calmed down and no fresh incident of firing was reported after last week’s ceasefire violation, residents are not leaving anything up to fate. “An evacuation plan has been prepared. In 30 minutes, all the residents will be in underground bunkers if something ugly happens,” Kaur added.After Pakistan used mortar shells for the first time in two years, authorities have put the BSF on a high alert along the International Border in Jammu.“The BSF continues to monitor the developments closely, while assessing the situation and remains alert to respond as necessary to ensure the safety and security of the border and its residents,” a BSF official said.India shares a 3,323-km border with Pakistan, including 965 km in Jammu and Kashmir. While 221 km is the demarcated International Border, 744 km is the Line of Control which came up as a result of hostilities between the two South Asian neighbours after the 1947 partition.In 2017, the Union government sanctioned the construction of 18,460 individual and community bunkers in five districts of J&K – Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Poonch, and Rajouri which fall along the Line of Control and International Border to shield border residents from Pakistani shelling.
