People in Arunachal dist told to return ammo kept in store

Days after three children were killed in a blast while toying with a live bomb at Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, army authorities have requested people in the region to return all live mortar shells they might have collected from a nearby firing range.

Army personnel, along with district administration officials, have been going from door to door to request locals, who have, so far, responded positively to the initiative and given up the ammunition they had been holding, defence spokesperson Col Chiranjit Konwer said Friday.

"Over the last two days, 554 shells submitted by the villagers were destroyed by the Army at Nara Tiding firing range," Konwer said.

Two girls, aged between eight and 10, and a two-year-old boy were killed Saturday when a shell they had picked up exploded at Chirang village in Anjaw district.

The Nara Tiding firing range, bordering China, is used by the Army, the Indo Tibetan Border Police, and other security agencies for field exercises, the defence spokesperson said.

"The range has a number of villages in its vicinity. Despite warnings, villagers gather ammunition and shells from the range," he said.

The initiative by the Army and the district administration, which has received appreciation from various quarters, will prevent accidents, such as the one that occurred on Saturday, Konwer added.