Diplomat Special Correspondent
Uri, May 08 (DD): As shells continue to rain down across villages hugging the Line of Control in Kashmir, a sense of deep regret lingers among residents—not just over the loss of lives and homes, but over missed chances to fortify their future.
For years, border dwellers in areas like Silikote, Churunda, and Gohallan were promised government-sanctioned community bunkers—reinforced underground shelters meant to offer protection during cross-border shelling. But between bureaucratic red tape, halted funding, and local indifference, most of those plans never materialized.
Now, with mortar rounds falling just meters away from their homes, many residents find themselves exposed and unprotected.
“We never thought it would come to this”
“We talked about bunkers in village meetings, even collected some money, but the effort fizzled out. Everyone thought the ceasefire would hold,” said Abdul Majid Dar, a shopkeeper in Uri whose house was partially damaged in the latest shelling.
“Now it feels like we’re trying to dig a well during a fire,” he added, using an old Kashmiri proverb to describe their helplessness.
Promises unfulfilled, fear rising
In 2018 and again in 2021, the government had announced schemes to construct individual and community bunkers in vulnerable areas along the LoC. But only a fraction were completed.
“We had proposals for five community bunkers in Churunda alone. Only one was started, and even that remains half-built,” said Mohammed Ramzan, a former Panchayat member. “If they had finished them, at least our women and children would have had a place to hide.”
The lone bunker in the village is overcrowded and poorly ventilated. At least 40 people were crammed inside it on Tuesday night when a barrage of shells landed just outside the village school.
“It’s not just about concrete—it’s about urgency”
Security officials admit the delay in construction is a mixture of administrative backlog and the perceived lull in violence over the past few years.
“There was a belief that hostilities had cooled. Resources were diverted elsewhere. Now we’re seeing the consequences,” said a senior official from the J&K Disaster Management Authority, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A call to act—before it’s too late again
Back in Baramulla, evacuee Parveen Akhter had just one request for authorities: “Start the bunkers again. Even if the shelling stops tomorrow, don’t stop the work. Next time, we may not be so lucky.”
With tensions at the LoC refusing to ease and families displaced once more, the refrain is clear: protection delayed is protection denied (DD)