Villager show the mortars after shelling by Pakistan in the RS Pura area. Tribune file Photo

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 3

Residents of border areas in the Jammu region had the darkest Diwali this year as they could not light a single candle on the festival due to continuous shelling from across the fence.Tension on the international border and Line of Control (LoC) dampened the festive season this year for residents of Jammu, particularly border villages, with 11 lives lost within a month.Uncertainty prevailed in all villages along the LoC and international border with residents of these villages leading their lives under the shadow of fear for more than a month.Fear could be seen in the eyes of people of all ages, from the elderly to one-year-olds, who had been witnessing continuous shelling from the other side. There was no festive season, right from the first Navratra to Bhai Dooj, for residents of border villages.The festivity was missing from their lives since September 29 when surgical strikes were conducted by the Army and Pakistan started unprovoked firing at different posts on the international border.“What Diwali? We forgot this festival this year!” said Ram Lal, a farmer in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district near the international border.“From Navratras to Bhai Dooj, we did not have proper food. There was no reason to celebrate the festival. We could not light even one candle on Diwali as the light could be spotted by the Rangers,” he added.About 35 per cent of the villagers who had their friends and relatives in safer places had shifted temporarily from border areas. The rest were at home, but were not allowed to light a single candle or step out of their homes after 5:30 pm.“It was the darkest Diwali this year as we remained inside from 5:30 pm to 6 am. We spent the festival praying for peace on the border,” said Updesh Kumar of SM Pura village in Samba district on the border.