Once a regular Pakistan Army target, today this is a school along LoC

By Anish Kumar | First Published Jul 16, 2021, 6:07 PM IST

Asianet Newsable visited the Line of Control recently during which our senior reporter Anish Singh came across an army-managed school that was once a regular target of the Pakistan Army's ceasefire violations.

The building that you see above was a frequent target of the Pakistan Army's shelling till as recently as February this year.

Once a community hall, this structure in Bimbergali's Basooni village still has tell-tale signs of the neighbouring country's provocation.

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The damage caused by exploding mortar shells and firing -- as recently as February -- is evident across the premises of the structure that today serves as a special community school.

Opening the school was an initiative undertaken by the Indian Army to ensure that the studies of children residing along the Line of Control, bordering Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, continue.

Asianet Newsable, which visited the forward area, met school teachers and students. The village, Basooni, has 12 households with nearly 100 residents.

Living constantly under the shadow of a hostile neighbour, the Coronavirus outbreak compounded the misery of the people along the Line of Control.

But since the end of February this year, when India and Pakistan agreed on a ceasefire, things have improved drastically.

The Indian Army has been running a community school, wherein students from the forward villages come and attend classes.

The students said the continuous shelling and firing by the Pakistani Army had had a psychological impact on them.

"We were facing a lot of problems because of shelling. We could not move out of homes, and the studies of students were getting affected. But now everything is fine. The situation now is peaceful. There is a network problem in the border areas. The rest of India has Internet access, but we do not. So a concept of community classes was developed by the Indian Army," Alyas Khan, community school teacher, said.

Rozia Jameel, a student of Class 11, told Asianet Newsable that she wants to become a doctor.

"I want to serve my country and the society," she said.

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