Srinagar: Baramulla Police in Jammu and Kashmir have issued an appeal to displaced residents affected by the cross-border shelling between India and Pakistan to refrain from returning to their homes until the J&K Police provide official clearance.
The warning, issued on Sunday, indicates the lethal aftermath of cross-border shelling, with unexploded ordnance scattered across both public and private areas, posing “serious and potentially fatal risks” to anyone attempting to return immediately, J&K Police officials said.
“We urgently appeal to all displaced residents to refrain from returning to your homes until official clearance is provided by the J-K Police,” the police said in a notice issued on Sunday.
Uri, situated close to the Line of Control (LoC), has borne the brunt of the recent standoff between India and Pakistan. The shelling has tragically claimed the life of one woman and left 14 others injured. The infrastructure damage is also high, with over 100 houses and structures completely damaged in various villages over the last five days.
These guidelines were issued after Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited Uri sector on Saturday. After assessing the “damage to the civilian area and residential houses caused by unprovoked shelling by Pakistan in the border villages of Lagama and Gingal,” Sinha directed the district administration to provide immediate relief and ensure the safety and security of affected families.
“Took assessment of the damage to the civilian area and residential houses caused by unprovoked shelling by Pakistan in the border villages of Lagama and Gingal in Uri. I’ve directed the district admin to provide immediate relief to the affected families and ensure their safety and security,” Sinha posted on.
Officials noted the intensity and reach of the shelling, with numerous shells striking areas like Boniyar and Mohra, which are not directly on the LoC itself. In a tragic incident at Mohra, a historically significant site as home to Kashmir’s first hydroelectric plant established in 1902, a woman was killed and two others (another woman and a man) were injured. They were reportedly fleeing the shelling in a car along the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar Road when their vehicle was struck by a mortar.
This wave of destruction in Uri follows similar devastation in Poonch city in Jammu Division and its surrounding areas, where 13 civilians, including two women and four children, were killed and more than forty sustained injuries during cross-border shelling.
The relentless cross-Loc shelling during the last few days and the ensuing death and destruction have prompted widespread evacuations. Echoing measures taken in Poonch, Akhnoor, and Karnah, authorities have relocated dozens of families from frontline villages in the Uri sector to makeshift shelters in Uri and Baramulla town.
