‘Bunkers saved our lives’

Pakistan's unprovoked ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir's Arnia sector, which began Thursday evening and continued till 3:00 am yesterday, forced people to abandon homes in the border village of Bulleh Chak and run for their lives from mortar shells.

A woman called Ekta told news agency ANI, "First there was limited firing. Then a big mortar shell hit our house at 8:00 pm (on Thursday). The kitchen was damaged... all glass windows have broken (but) by God's grace, we were saved..."

The village leader, Dev Raj Chowdhary, told ANI Ekta and her family had spent night in shelled home, praying no further mortars would land on their heads.

Others, who spoke to ANI after the firing and shelling subsided, said they sought shelter in battle-scarred bunkers - in effect, empty underground rooms with no amenities and riddled with bullet holes - that dot the region. And it is to these bunkers that scared locals run to whenever there is shelling.