Securing border after floods a crucial task for Army - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir

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Securing border after floods a crucial task for Army

9/9/2014 11:59:23 PM

AKHNOOR, Sept 9 : Spread out on the soggy ground near most of the bunkers at an Army post in Akhnoor, 80 km from Jammu, boots dot the landscape two at a time, waiting to be permeated by the bright sunlight. The army positions in the Ditch-cum Bandhs here are just less than six kilometres from the Pakistan border. Majority of the bunkers are filled completely with water. From some of the bunkers, water has receded, leaving behind a thick covering of mud and slush, making them completely uninhabitable. Stray personal items like belts and boots are still stuck in the mud, indicating the hurry in which these positions were vacated as the water levels from the Jhelum started rising five days ago. For the men and officers manning this border post, saving their weapons, ammunition and rations is priority. But the stand-out concern for the soldiers here is the damaged fence that runs along the border with Pakistan.Five days of insidious rain have brought the worst floods in over half a century to Jammu and Kashmir. Lakhs of people remain stranded on roofs - in most cases, for the third day in a row - in Srinagar and the southern part of the state.The Army, Air Force and Navy have forged a gigantic rescue operation with the federal National Disaster Relief Force to rescue nearly 50,000 people. But this border outpost in Akhnoor clearly shows that while the Army is out rescuing people, its own home is in disorder. It is the closest that one can come in having to fight in two fronts at the same point of time - keeping the preparedness up at the border, while providing relief to stranded people.But at this Army post, the priority is to repair the damage done to posts along the 1759-kilometre Line of Control, one of the world's deadliest and most heavily militarised borders. Parts of a rocket launcher lie on its side in the slush, a stark indicator of the military sensitivities of the region. The gaps in the fencing are what is being fixed first. "The night is like a day for me," said Colonel Pradeep Semwal, Commanding Officer of the unit, indicating the frantic activity that goes on at night, just to ensure that the breached fence does not give any advantage to terrorists across the border, waiting for an opportunity to sneak in. Till the breached fences the mended and the sensors back in position, the Army has pulled out more or less the last bits of its reserve and is trying to plug these breaches in the fence. "The damage is quite severe both in terms of fence and infrastructure. All our posts and infrastructure are damaged," said Colonel Semwal added. Just a short walk away, villagers are trying to take stock of what is left. Now that the waters have begun receding, it is time to measure the losses. "Around 75% of our crops have been destroyed," says a farmer.
For most of them, having survived the Jhelum in spate was a small part of the battle and it is everyday life that will be a concern for the next few months. They now have to deal with questions like where do they stay, how do they stay and what do they eat or where.

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