Poonch: After the Army’s surgical strikes on launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) and the escalating tension between the two countries on the LoC, the district authorities have asked border residents to move to safer places along with important belongings. Hailing the surgical strikes, the residents have started constructing and renovating bunkers in villages along the LoC in Poonch district instead.Expressing their support for security forces, they have been renovating their old bunkers to save themselves during shelling from the Pakistani side. Most village residents had constructed the bunkers in 2008 when Pakistani soldiers resorted to heavy shelling on villages near the LoC, compelling residents to migrate to Poonch. There are over 25 villages from Balakote sector to Saujian sector in Poonch district which are in direct range of Pakistani firing. “We welcome the surgical strikes and want to convey our congratulations to the Prime Minister and Army for teaching a lesson to Pakistan not to test our patience,” said Satish Kumar of Jhullas village. “We have already constructed concrete bunkers for such situations and renovated those to keep our families safe in a war-like situation. Some people have started constructing new bunkers,” he said.  The district authorities had asked people to shift to safer places identified by it. “We have identified many places for the people living on the LoC and made all facilities available for them. We have closed schools within a distance of 10 km from the LoC till further orders for the safety of students,” said MH Malik, Deputy Commissioner, Poonch.

Preparedness of rly stations checked  Jammu:

Senior officers of the Government Railway Police, Jammu, including Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Railways, Rajinder Kumar Gupta, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Railways, Sudhir Singh, Divisional Traffic Manager and Railway Protection Force (RPF) officers jointly visited the railway stations adjacent to the international border (IB) on Friday to check preparedness in view of the prevailing situation on the border. The team visited the Vijaypur and Samba railway stations to check the preparedness of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railways officials and to ensure coordination among various agencies. Senior Superintendent of Police, Railways, Rajinder Kumar Gupta said the team of officers took stock of the situation and checked the preparedness to maintain synergy among various agencies in view of the prevailing situation on the border. In addition to this, a security review meeting was convened by the SSP at his office with the representatives of non-civilian organisations to review the security measures. He stressed on augmenting the security on the ground and for remaining extra vigilant and alert in view of the prevailing scenario. It was emphasised that round-the-clock patrolling be conducted jointly by officials of the GRP and RPF so that it becomes effective and meaningful.

20 evacuation camps identified in UriSrinagar

: A day after surgical strikes were carried out by the Army across the Line of Control (LoC), an eerie calm prevailed in the border town of Uri even as people went around with routine activities, with markets and schools remaining open on Friday. However, the district authorities had a detailed meeting with all school heads of the Uri area, comprising around 120 villages, to chalk out contingency plans. The authorities have identified and designated around 20 locations, including Uri Degree College and the Salamabad Trade facilitation Centre where people would be lodged  in case of any eventuality in the sector. “On Friday, we called a meeting of all school heads of the area and discussed the evacuation plans with them in case of any eventuality. After getting a feedback from them, particularly regarding the  facilities and other infrastructure available in the  schools, we have identified 20 places, including degree college and trade centre, to serve as evacuation camps,” said Uri Sub-Divisional Magistrate Showket Ahmed Rather. The meeting was chaired by the Baramulla Deputy Commissioner.