J-K admin directs agency to speed up construction of border bunkers

Amid spurt in Pakistani firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir, the state administration Wednesday gave directions for early completion of underground bunkers for the safety of the border residents, an official spokesperson said.

"Necessary measures should be taken for speeding up the construction work of the border bunkers which provide shelter to people living in border areas during the (Pakistani) shelling," Advisor to Governor, Kewal Kumar Sharma, said.

Sharma passed the directive at a meeting convened to review the construction of bunkers in the border areas of Jammu division, including Rajouri, Poonch, Samba and Kathua districts, the spokesperson said.

In December 2017, the Centre announced construction of 14,460 individual and community bunkers for people living along the LoC and the IB in Jammu region to ensure their safety in the wake of frequent cross-border shelling.

The spokesperson said the meeting was informed that around 891 individual bunkers and 60 community bunkers have been constructed in the border districts so far.

"An amount of Rs 50 crore has so far been received from the central government," he said, adding that 90 per cent of the border bunker project would be completed by ending June.

Three security personnel, including two officers and a porter, were killed and several others injured in a series of ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC and the IB since the beginning of this year.

Last year, 2,936 ceasefire violations by Pakistan -- the highest in the past 15 years with an average of eight cases daily -- in which 61 people were killed and over 250 injured -- were recorded.