With regards to the security concern of the locals during the cross-border firing along the LOC, the government of India has constructed community bunkers in Rajouri’s Nowshera city. This laudable initiative is taken to ensure that daily life and education is not disrupted in areas surrounding the borders.
Rajouri District Development Commissioner, Mohammad Aijaz Asad while speaking to ANI said, “Some bunkers have already been constructed and many more will be completed soon here in Rajouri. The project by the Government will be wrapped up soon. Schooling facility will be provided in the bunkers so that students’ time isn’t wasted and their schooling is completed on time.”
As many as 102 bunkers out of the sanctioned 14,000 bunkers have already been completed providing respite to the locals especially at the time of ceasefire violation by Pakistan.
Locals are gratified by the bunkers which provide shelter during the firing. Some have even installed light bulbs and fans inside the bunkers for comfort. Taking into account the 1252 ceasefire violation from across the border, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in May this year had called for accelerating the construction of bunkers along the International Border (IB) and LoC to protect the border residents.
The Centre recently sanctioned the construction of 14,460 individual and community bunkers costing Rs 415.73 crore for people living along the borders. Out of the total sanctioned, 13,029 bunkers would be of 160 square feet individual bunkers with a capacity to hold 8 persons while the rest 372 would be community bunkers of 800 square feet with a capacity to hold up to 80 people. These bunkers would spread across Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Rajouri, and Poonch districts.
