Living in constant fear of being caught in the crossfire, villagers in this border district of Jammu and Kashmir have pleaded for underground shelters. The threat to their lives has increased lately in the wake of intensified firing by Pakistani rangers.
Prominent citizens, including political and religious leaders, strongly pleaded before defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav during his weekend visit here to help solve their problems.
The patriotic people of Kargil are living in constant fear in view of the recurring firing from across the border. The shelling has created a lot of problems for us, said Mohammad Hassan, a former member of Parliament. He has requested the government to build some underground shelters for the people to move to whenever shelling takes place.
Stating that the people in the border areas of Ladakh have been providing all the possible help to the troops, he assured the continuity of the same. A local Congress leader said the people living in the border belt were feeling suppressed even in the 50th year of the countrys Independence due to Pakistani agression.
Reiterating that the people of border areas had been frightened by the almost regular shelling by Pakistani forces, he said, we seek more cooperation from the Army in view of the difficult conditions created by repeated shelling. Seeking recruitment of local youth in defence services, he cautioned that unless something was done for the local people, the situation may go the Kashmir way.
The people of Ladakh are peace-loving and ready to help the forces, asserted the states public works minister, Qamar Ali Akhoon, adding that the people of this region had foiled the earlier attempts by Pakistan to incite trouble here.
Pakistan made several bids to involve the people of this Muslim-dominated district but fortunately the political and religious leaders here have ensured the foiling of those,
