Owing to constant fear of shelling from the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) by Pakistan, the locals of forward Trava village in the Arnia sector of the Jammu district are pushing for their long-standing demand of a bridge near the International Border to enable them to escape to safer places faster. The villagers are currently using a makeshift structure of cement sewage pipes to cross a stream and now want a permanent bridge for safe passage in case of cross-border firing like the one that took place earlier this month and in October.
A BSF jawan was killed in firing by Pakistan Rangers in Ramgarh sector of Samba district during the intervening night of November 8-9. This was the first casualty on the Indian side of the border after a renewed ceasefire was agreed upon by India and Pakistan on February 25, 2021.
Prior to that, two BSF personnel and a woman sustained injuries in a cross-border firing in the Arnia sector on October 26, while another BSF jawan was injured in the first such incident in over two years on October 17. The frequent ceasefire violations caused panic among the border residents.
Sarpanch's demand for bridge
"The bridge to connect over 20 villages is a long standing demand of the border residents. I have raised the issue with the administration in 2019 but all our pleas have gone unanswered so far," sarpanch Trava Balbir Kour said.
She said that the bridge is being proposed at an area which falls beyond the shelling range of the Pakistanis.
"In case of Pakistani shelling, the vulnerable people can use the bridge to reach safer places," Kour said.
She informed that after her representation to the administration, two years were consumed by the COVID pandemic and later a detailed project report was prepared by the Public Works Department.
Following heavy shelling by Pakistan on October 26, the sarpanch said that the villagers met the visiting official team led by Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar and put forth their demand for the construction of the bridge on priority.
"I have heard that the Rural Development Department has been assigned the construction of the bridge and the work is likely to start in the coming days," Kour said.
What did the villagers say?
A villager, Atma Ram, said that the local panchayat used to conduct necessary repairs of the makeshift bridge every time after the monsoon season. “After the recent firing incidents from across the border, the situation has changed altogether and people want this bridge to be completed as soon as possible," he said.
Another villager Ramesh Kumar said that the bridge will prove to be a lifeline for the residents when it is constructed.
(With PTI inputs)
