Tension along International Border: Farmers rush to wrap up harvest
Suchetgarh (J-K) (PTI): Farmers living along the nearly 200-km-long International Border in Jammu and Kashmir are racing against time to complete the harvest process amid heightened tension following the Pahalgam terror attack.
In the three districts of Jammu, Samba, and Kathua, about 1.25 lakh hectares of agricultural land falls within the shelling range of Pakistan.
Villages like Treva, Mahashe-de-Kothe, Chandu Chak, Gharana, Bulla Chak, and Korotana Kalan are witnessing a flurry of activity, with families working day and night to finish harvesting, dry the grain, and pack it for delivery to mills.
While over 90 percent of the wheat and other crops have been harvested, the process of harvesting the rest, packaging them and sending them to mills remains.
“We are racing against time to complete harvesting,” Santosh Singh, a 50-year farmer from Treva village in the Arnia sector said, adding “there is very little time left.”
Treva, located just 1.5 km from the border, is directly under threat from Pakistan Rangers.
Since the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead, the farming community in Treva is anxious and authorities have responded with urgency.
"An alert has been sounded. The tehsildar has arranged 20 harvesters to speed up the harvesting process. Ninety-five percent of the harvesting has already been completed in these belts,” another farmer from Treva, Rakesh Kumar told PTI here.
“We live in a danger zone. Every time shelling starts, we face death and destruction", he said.
Radhika Devi, who belongs to a farmers' family of village Suchetgarh, said her family had packed over 300 bags of wheat in just a few days.
“It is an emergency. Mill owners are paying well and are quickly ferrying the bags to safer areas.”
Tarika Devi of Korotana Kalan echoed the urgency. “We were alerted after the Pahalgam massacre. Now that most of the harvesting is over in our belt, we are rushing to stock the produce. Shelling could resume at any time.”
Amid the heightened tension, finding labour has become a challenge.
“Labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who usually help us during harvesting, have refused to work in the fields under these hostile conditions,” Kuldeep Kumar, a farmer from Suchetgarh, said.
The agricultural stretch from Paharpur in Kathua district bordering Punjab to Chicken’s Neck in Jammu district remains vulnerable, with thousands of families living within five km of the border constantly under threat.
Chandu Chak village farmer Sardar Teg Singh said, “The fear is constant, but we have become used to it. This time, we are better prepared. Not only can we save our lives and livestock, but we are also managing to save our crops—something we couldn’t always do in the past.”
According to the Basmati Rice Growers Association (BRGA) of R S Pura, nearly 1 to 1.25 lakh hectares of land, mostly known for world-class Basmati rice, is routinely impacted by cross-border shelling.
Although India and Pakistan agreed to a renewed ceasefire in February 2021, the fragile peace has come under fresh strain after the Pahalgam terror strike.
The fear gripping border residents today is reminiscent of the 2021 period, when intense shelling forced mass evacuations and destruction of property and cattle from areas along the IB.
"We feel it would be worse than the 2021 shelling and firing. It is likely to be war, which we witnessed in 1971. We are better prepared this time. We will fully support our troops bravely from our villages", 80-year-old Faqir Chand of Mahashe-de-Kothe village said.
For the farmers of Jammu’s border belt, the harvest season, usually marked by celebration and relief, is now one of anxiety, urgency, and survival.
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Kerala court sentences man to life imprisonment for doc's murder in hospital
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Kollam (PTI): A teacher convicted in the sensational murder of Dr Vandana Das inside a hospital here was sentenced to life term on Saturday, and the prosecution said it will move an appeal seeking death penalty for the accused. The victim's family also batted for "maximum punishment".
Dr Das was brutally killed inside a taluk hospital in May 2023 by G Sandeep.
Kollam Additional District and Sessions judge P N Vinod sentenced Sandeep to a total of 30 years for various offences under the then Indian Penal Code (IPC) and said that after he serves that period, his life imprisonment for Das' murder will commence.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.35 lakh on the convict.
Though the prosecution had sought death penalty for the accused during the arguments on sentence, the court was of the view that the case does not fall under the rarest-of-rare category to warrant the maximum punishment.
It was also of the view that there was a chance of the convict getting reformed as he told the court that the rest of his life would be one of repentance, the order on sentence said.
"At the same time, I agree with the stand of the prosecution to the effect that the sentence should commensurate with the gravity of the crime and the sentence should not only be reformative, but should also have a deterrent effect."
"In my view, the said objective can be achieved by directing that the term sentences that will be imposed will run consecutively and life sentence that has to be imposed will commence only after the expiration of terms sentences," the judge said.
After the verdict, special public prosecutor (SPP) Prathap G Padickal told reporters outside the court that he will recommend to the prosecution to file an appeal seeking enhancement of the life imprisonment to death penalty.
The victim's father said that the verdict has come as a relief for the family, but that he cannot authoritatively say whether his late daughter has got justice. He indicated his dissatisfaction with the punishment, saying that steps will be taken to seek its enhancement after discussions with the public prosecutor.
Dr Das' mother said that the family can only wish for the maximum punishment and it was up to the court to decide what sentence should be given. She said that the family will go in appeal, but declined to comment on whether her daughter got justice.
She tearfully said that she wants the convict to suffer the same pain that her daughter underwent "as he stabbed her 27 times".
The court on March 17 had convicted Sandeep for various offences under the IPC, including murder, destruction of evidence and wrongful restraint.
It had also held him guilty under the provisions of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of violence and damage to property) Act 2012.
Sandeep was brought to the taluk hospital by the police for medical treatment during the small hours of May 10, 2023 and he went on a sudden attacking spree using a pair of surgical scissors kept in the room where his leg injury was being dressed.
A school teacher by profession, he had initially attacked the police officers and another person who had accompanied him to the hospital and then turned on the young Dr Das, who could not escape to safety.
She was stabbed several times and later succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where she was rushed following the attack.
Dr Das was a native of the Kaduthuruthy area of Kottayam district and the only child of her parents.
She was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training.
Sandeep had called the emergency number 112, claiming that his life was in danger. When local police located him, he was standing close by his home, surrounded by local residents and his relatives, and had a wound on his leg following an alleged quarrel.
He was then taken to the hospital for dressing the wound.
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