Kupwara, May 11: Sitting on the debris of his house in the Batpora area of border town Karnah in north Kashmirís Kupwara district, Rafiq Ahmad is shattered over the loss of his house which he had constructed by spending his entire savings.
According to Rafiq, he, along with his family, was having dinner when shelling from across the border started on May 7 at about 8 pm.
ìWe had hardly finished our dinner when a mortar shell hit a vehicle in front of our house. The vehicle immediately caught fire and its oil tank burst with a bang. All of a sudden my house and four other houses caught fire. The raging flames made it impossible for us to save our belongings. We saw our houses turning into ashes and could do nothing,î Rafiq told Greater Kashmir at his native village.
ìThe district administration next day shifted us to a makeshift shelter at Government Degree College Sogam. Today we have come here to see the gravity of the loss. Nothing has been left behind that we could benefit from,î Rafiq said. ìMy four brothers and I have lost everything. Our biggest concern is to find a place to stay as we are left with no shelter. The government must come to the rescue of families like us who faced the brunt of cross-border shelling.î
He said that the cross-border shelling has cost them badly and now they hope the ceasefire agreement stays forever so that they do not have to face such an eventuality in the future.
Rafiqís story is not an exception.
The homes of several other families have also been reduced to rubble.
Bisma Nazir, 23, was set to get married on May 10.
Her house was filled with wedding decorations, gifts, and dreams.
However, everything changed when a mortar shell hit her house in Hajinar village on May 9 night.
ìOur house and the dream of my family members of seeing me married are gone. We had so many plans. Now nothing is left. Even my wedding dress is under the rubble,î the traumatized Bisma said.
Bismaís father, Nazir Ahmad Mir, a daily labourer, had spent savings of several years on her wedding.
ìI had planned everything to see my daughter happy but one shell destroyed my house, my dream, and her future,î Mir said.
What was supposed to be a joyous wedding has turned into a scene of heartbreak, replaced by silence and sorrow instead of music and laughter.
The cross-border shelling has damaged several shops in the main town of Karnah, leaving shopkeepers devastated.
ìWe have lost everything. Our shops are destroyed. The shelling has affected our livelihood,î said, a local shopkeeper whose shop was hit by a motor shell on May 9.
According to an official in Karnah, at least 20 houses have been fully damaged while almost 100 structures including shops and houses have been partially damaged.
