Homeless and Waiting: Victims of shelling in Poonch await government help

Surjan Singh along with his family have taken refuge in a Gurdawara after his house in Poonch town was flattened in cross-border shelling.

On May 7, multiple bomb shells struck Singh’s house, reducing it to rubble and leaving the family homeless.  

Earlier this week, some government officials, including Tehsildar and Patwari visited the site to assess the damage for compensation.

“My entire house is damaged. I hope that government will provide us an adequate compensation to rebuild our houses”, Singh said.

After India launched Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam terror attack, which left 25 tourists and a local pony operator dead, Pakistan resorted to heavy shelling in border villages of Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control and International Border.

Poonch district, separated from the Valley by mighty Pir Panjal mountains, suffered heavy damage to both property and life. At least 20 persons including children lost their lives and hundreds of houses were levelled.

While the district administration is assessing the damage caused to property, many affected residents holding off on repair works, waiting to be included in the official assessment for compensation.

“We are waiting for the administration to assess the damage before we start the repair work”, said Mohammad Iqbal, another resident of Poonch town.

Last week, Deputy Commissioner Vikas Kundal held a meeting with district officers to discuss a unified approach for evaluating and confirming the extent of damage resulting from the recent cross-border shelling in the district.

A plan was also formulated to constitute teams that will visit the affected areas to verify and map the extent of structural damage.

A senior official from Poonch told businessline that the damage assessment was classified into three categories– full damage, severe damage, and partial damage.

However, many residents continue to live in unsafe, damaged homes as they await assessment teams from the administration. Any further delay could worsen their already precarious situation.

“I visited several affected families in the area. The main reason they haven’t started repair work is the pending damage assessment by the administration,” said Raa Waheed, a senior leader of the Awami Itehad Party (AIP).

However , according to the official, the damage assessment is expected to be completed by next week

Published on May 20, 2025