Burnt books, flattened homes: Batpora villagers await govt relief post-shelling
A boy worries about how to get new school books and a uniform. A housewife stands before the charred remains of her kitchen. A shopkeeper sifts through his scorched inventory to tally his losses.
These are the grim realities at Batpora village of Tangdhar, in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, as residents begin returning home after intense shelling last week. With the ceasefire now in place, villagers are left to count the cost of the conflict.
“We built our houses over years, and see today—everything has turned into ashes,” said Tasveer Ahmad, one of the villagers whose home was damaged.
Ahmad recalled that last week, soon after India carried out strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Pakistani forces launched heavy artillery shelling at midnight. Villages along the Line of Control (LoC) were rocked by deafening blasts, forcing residents to flee.
While several LoC villages in Kashmir saw damage to public property, Batpora bore the brunt of the shelling, leaving at least six families homeless.
The bombardment was so severe that many villagers feared for their lives. “My heart skipped a beat,” said 12-year-old Mohammad Amir Safeer, still searching the debris for his burnt school books and notebooks.
“I don’t know where I would get new books. Everything is gone,” he added, eyes scanning the rubble.
On Sunday, as families returned amid a fragile ceasefire, they found their multi-storey homes reduced to ruins. There is cautious relief among residents, but uncertainty looms. “The biggest worry is how long the ceasefire holds,” said a villager.
The Army on Monday stated that the intervening night between Sunday and Monday “remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir and other areas along the International Border.”
“No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” the Army added. Villagers expressed the hope that the two countries would seek dialogue. “War brings destruction and ruins everything… see what has happened to us,” said Mohammad Rafiq.
Although officials and political leaders have visited the area to assess the damage, families in Batpora were still waiting for any official relief as of Monday afternoon. For now, they are relying on neighbours and sheer resilience.
“Neighbours bring us food. We don’t have new clothes. For the last many days, I have been wearing the same clothes,” said a woman from Batpora. “We request the administration to please provide us relief and help us rebuild our lives.”
J & K