Border villages turn bomb-proof

The fear among villagers on this side of the border has much to do with Pakistani soldiers either repairing or converting of kuchcha morchas into the pucca ones. Something people are witness to everyday as they work in their fields right on the zero line.

Pakistan’s Saidanwali Post opposite the Baba Chamliyal Shrine here has recently been turned into a concrete structure. ‘‘Sahibji, with binoculars, you can see for yourself how Pakistanis have used bagsful of cement to add to the strength of the bunker,’’ says a BSF personnel guarding one of the Chamliyal posts.

The bomb-proof bunker, inaugurated by Brigadier Subodh Kaul, has a capacity of 60 to 70 people. ‘‘Two years ago, had there been anything like this bunker, I wouldn’t have abandoned my home,’’ said Lal. Mangat Ram, a farmer, points to the pockmarked wall of the Ram temple nearby. He says for the past several years, only the walls of the 150-year-old temple have stood between them and the bullets from across the border.

The bunker, at Rs 2 lakh each, is 11 feet high but only two feet above the ground. ‘‘The bunker is specially designed to bear the brunt of any calibre of shell. Special material has been used keeping the needs in mind,’’ said contractor M.K.Mehra.