As India and Pak exchange fire, 40,000 villagers living along border abandon homes

The bustling settlement of Arnia and a chain of border hamlets along the Indo-Pak border now wear an empty look, with over 40,000 villagers abandoning their homes to escape heavy shelling by Pakistani forces.

Arnia town, with a population of 18,000, resembles a ghost town with only a few people left each in its adjoining hamlets to take care of animals and guard homes.

Farming, schooling, cattle rearing and everything else on which border dwellers survive have come to a halt due to the shelling episodes.

#JammuAndKashmir : All border schools closed falling upto 4 kms from international border in RS Pura & Arnia sectors#ceasefireviolation

— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) January 19, 2018

Villagers at the forefront of Pakistani shelling say they feel they are in a war zone with sounds of mortar bombs and rattle of automatic weapons booming in the area.

In the hamlets, devastation is visible all around — blood stains on the floor, broken windows, injured animals and splinter marks on the walls.

Cease fire violations update.
Pakistan violated cease fire in RS Pora Arnia and Kanachak in Jammu;Jalllas in Poonch.Three civilians and an army jawan martyred 16 civilians,an ASI of BSF and …read more