SRINAGAR: “My house was completely damaged in the Pakistani shelling. I spent Rs 15,000 to clear the debris, but surprisingly, the government gave me only Rs 10,000 as compensation,” said Mohammad Maqbool Khan, a resident of Sonora, Kralapora, close to the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
He said the shelling totally damaged his house, and he incurred a loss of Rs 25-30 lakh. “Top civil and police officials also visited our village and saw the damage to my house and other houses in the village,” Khan said.
He is stunned by the paltry compensation: “I don’t know what to say. I am speechless.”
Over a hundred houses and structures were damaged in Pakistani troops’ mortar and artillery shelling in border areas of Tangdhar and Karnah in Kupwara district and Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. In the Parampilla village of Uri, which is close to the LoC, the house of the sister of Syed Mustafa was badly damaged in Pakistani shelling.
“The house suffered extensive damage. All household items were damaged. The window panes, glass panes and doors shattered. The walls developed cracks,” said Mustafa.
According to him, the losses run into lakhs of rupees, but “instead of giving us adequate compensation to rebuild the house, the government has given us a relief of Rs 6,500”, he said.
“Is this a joke,” he asked.
In neighbouring Salambad village in Uri, three houses were fully damaged, and three others partially, in the Pakistani shelling. The houses of two brothers, Talib Hussain and Mohammad Younis, sons of Sultan Niak, have been fully damaged. Ex-sarpanch of the village Abdul Rashid Awan said these houses have been “rendered unsafe for living”.
“Construction material and labour are quite costly in our village, and it takes over Rs 3 5-40 lakh to construct a two-storey house,” Awan said.
He said the two brothers (Talib and Younis) have been compensated Rs 1.30 lakh each by the government, while damage to the house of another resident, Shamim, is being re-assessed. These villagers come from poor families and work as labourers.
The ex-sarpanch said: “The families had spent their whole life’s earnings in the construction of the houses, and now they are being offered Rs 1.3 lakh to rebuild the homes. Is it possible to construct a house in that amount?”
He said it would be virtually impossible for these three people to rebuild their fully damaged homes if the government did not provide them with adequate compensation.
The house of Mehtab Din Sheikh at Dongas, Poonch, was also severely damaged in the cross-border shelling on May 7 morning. He, too, received a similar amount as compensation. “I have suffered a loss worth Rs 15 lakh, and the government has provided me relief of Rs 1.3 lakh,” said Mehtab.
“How can I rebuild the house with Rs 1.3 lakh? It is not sufficient for even minor repairs of the damaged house, let alone rebuilding it,” he said.
Border residents whose houses have been damaged have urged the administration to provide them with adequate compensation to rebuild their homes.
Notably, at least 31 schools were also damaged in Pakistani troops’ shelling in Poonch and Rajouri. While 23 schools in Poonch were hit by shelling, seven schools and a private educational institution were damaged in the latter.
Over 100 houses, structures damaged in Pak shelling
Over a hundred houses and structures were damaged in Pakistani troops’ mortar and artillery shelling in border areas of Tangdhar and Karnah in Kupwara district and Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Compensation not enough to help us rebuild homes
According to one Syed Mustafa, whose house was damaged, the losses run into lakhs, but they have got a meagre Rs 6,500 as relief. Just like him, many other local residents have urged the administration to provide them with adequate compensation to rebuild their homes.