Why Uri remains shell-shocked weeks after ceasefire

India Today

2 days ago

As the guns roared along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and the shells wreaked havoc in Uri tehsil of Jammu & Kashmir's Baramulla district, among those who suffered in silence were the children whose education was interrupted with their schools shut for nearly two weeks since Operation Sindoor on May 7. The four-day conflict that ended with a ceasefire on May 10 has left its marks on their psyche, leaving them grappling with trauma and uncertainty in their formative years.'We can't sleep as we hear the shelling again in our nightmares, echoes of the terrifying sounds we heard during those days when the shells seemed to fall from the sky like stones,' says 12-year-old Umair Younis, a Class 5 student at the Molvi Balkhi primary school in Paranpilla village of Uri tehsil. 'Even now, I keep my clothes on all night, ready to run in an instant.'advertisementUmair's classmates are just as shell-shocked. Like him, they struggle to focus on their studies with memories of the shelling often overwhelming their minds with dread. 'I am unable to remember what I read the way I used to. My mind is preoccupied,'' says Suhana Iliyas, a girl who had to flee her home with her kin to Baramulla town.With six to eight classrooms, the Balkhi primary school is the prime private-run facility in the locality. Along with a nearby government school, it caters to 950 households. The premises are unusually silent as almost a third of the students are absent. This has been the case since the school reopened after two weeks of shutdown.
'This is because of the fear that the shelling struck deep in the students' hearts, but all of them will eventually return,' says 35-year-old Nasir Saleem, who teaches at the school and is also its administrator. Pointing out that education coverage was already relatively less in the border villages compared to other rural areas, Nasir believes this dip would be a big blow to the local education scene unless there is a bounce back. 'This place has seen enough and we don't want our children's education to be ruined like this,' he adds.advertisementRecovery, clearly, won't be easy. In fact, a few students have entirely shelved their study plans. 'How will these books help when my life's gone?' asks Iqra Banoo, a Class 12 student who now plans to join a madrassa. Staring at the devastation in her village, Gingal, Banoo sees no point in dreaming big. 'It's better to practise religion and revere God, the sole protector,' she says.A mock drill on May 31 spurred a fresh wave of fear among Uri residents. 'My children thought it would be followed by shelling just like the last mock drill,' says 55-year-old Abdul Qayoom, a resident of Gingal. 'They asked me all night about where we would hide. We didn't sleep at all.'The local economy, which banks less on homegrown produce and more on imported goods, is still reeling from the long-term blues of the conflict. Over a month into the ceasefire, it has been unable to overcome the strain, with markets recording a sharp dip in sales. Uri has mostly lower-income and middle-income families, with the majority of the locals moving to the urban centres for livelihood due to the absence of any major businesses and startups. They are a common sight as hotel workers in key tourist destinations such as Srinagar, Pahalgam and Gulmarg.advertisementAlthough the market in Uri town is back to life, with the J&K Road Transport Corporation buses dominating the transport landscape in the absence of any significant private competition, local shopkeepers say people are holding back on spending due to the fear of what could be coming next. 'My daily sales used to be around Rs 2,000-3,000 but now it keeps hovering around Rs 1,000. This is because people are saving money for any eventuality,' says 27-year-old Javaid Ahmad Chechi, who owns a small footwear shop in Uri market.There's a silver lining, however, for the local economy in the rising demand for daily essentials such as milk and vegetables. 'Customers are slowly starting to think about their eating priorities. We are seeing a good rush,' says Mubeen Beigh, who runs his family's two-decade-old vegetable shop in Uri market.Meanwhile, the government's efforts to rehabilitate shelling victims and compensate for the damages to buildings have been a balm for the people's wounds. When Home Minister Amit Shah, on his visit to worst-hit Poonch in Jammu on May 30, handed job-appointment letters to Uri's 45-year-old lone female casualty Nargis Begum's son, Saqib Bashir Khan, along with 11 others, it was a bittersweet moment for the family. 'Mother would yearn and pray for my selection to a government job,' says Khan. 'Look at my destiny, the job has come but my mother is no more. Now at least we'll be able to pay back our loans.'advertisementThe J&K government has sanctioned Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the kin of victims. Under the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) norms, it has also allotted Rs 1.2 lakh for fully damaged houses and Rs 6,500 for those with partial damages. The Centre's additional sanctioning of Rs 25 crore for the damaged houses, after CM Omar Abdullah's request and Amit Shah's promise in Poonch, has given the revival efforts a shot in the arm. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaring an additional amount of Rs 2 lakh for every fully damaged house and Rs 1 lakh for each partially damaged one, many who were left behind initially have found hope again.Several locals in Paranpilla and Gangil villages of Uri, however, complain that the loss assessment, carried out by a local patwari and an engineer in Uri town, was biased. 'I live alone in a shed and the rooftop is riddled with holes due to shell splinters,' says 77-year-old Mohammad Ahmad, a resident of Paranpilla. 'All the others, even with minor damages, have got compensation. No one listens to us but I'm hopeful Modiji's help will come my way.''advertisementSubscribe to India Today MagazineMust Watch