JAMMU: With no let up in Pakistani shelling on Indian villages and posts since India’s surgical strikes on terror launch pads on September 29, life of the villagers continues to be miserable.

NITIN KANOTRA/HTA resident shows mortar shells fired by the Pakistani army in Gigriyal village near Jammu on Friday.

With the shelling continuing for more than 45 days now, demonetization of ` 500 and ` 1,000 notes and continuing thefts have only added to their miseries.

“Today, when she went to her house she found that all her gold ornaments and money had been stolen,” 56-year old Mohan Lal said about a woman weeping inconsolably in the village. “She has lost all her savings.” Not so far away, Veena Devi cursed demonetization of `500 and `1000 notes by the NDA government. Both these women hail from Gigriyal — the last village on the Line of Control (LoC) in Pallanwala sector where Pakistan rained mortars on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

“We have had to flee our homes due to Pakistani shelling,” Lal further said, as most villagers looked at media persons furiously.

He said that nearly 1,500 villagers had taken refuge in Radha Swami ashram in Khour,

Veena Devi, like many others from the village, fell that they have been reduced to refugees in their own country.

“Pakistan is raining mortars on us, Modi government has demonitised notes and thieves are stealing gold and cash from our homes. We fled our fields at around 2.45 pm on Thursday when Pakistan started firing. Eventually, we left our homes and sought refuge in the ashram,” she said.

“It has been more than two months now. We have no place to live peacefully, have no money and now thefts are taking place,” she added.

Devi said that the government had done nothing on the ground.

“Please give us tents and food! For how long we will suffer?” she asked. “Schools are closed. Where should we go?” one of the children at the ashram asked.

Raj Kumar, another villager, said that the border population was facing immense hardships because of regular shelling by Pakistan.

“We have no clothes, no food and no money. Our standing paddy crop is getting ruined in Pakistani firing. We are facing starvation. Do we even have a government?” he asked.