J-K: With 3 members killed in ceasefire violation, this family still awaits bunker in house

About five years after the death of three members of the family in a Pakistan army shelling on their house, the family is still awaiting the construction of a bunker for their safety.

The family, resident of Chillari village, suffered the loss of three members after a bomb fell into their courtyard in 2014 during a ceasefire violation by Pakistan. Three other members of the family were also injured.

Saudagar Mal, who lost his mother, father and wife in the blast says, "I and my two sons were also injured in the blast. Despite losing three family members in the blast, we are still awaiting construction of bunkers at our house.

Speaking on the issue, Public Works Department engineer Rajesh Kumar Bhagat said, "The scheme to construct bunkers is ongoing in 23 villages. 860 bunkers have been constructed so far. We will look into the issue of concerned family and a bunker will be constructed for them at the earliest."

In May last year, the then Home Minister Rajnath Singh had called for expediting construction of bunkers along the International Border (IB) and LoC to protect the border residents, in view of 1,252 ceasefire violations by Pakistan during that year.

The MHA had approved Rs.415 crores for construction of more than 14,000 bunkers in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Rajouri, and Poonch districts.