Click to play videoJammu: Wakil Singh has returned to his fields in Gigriyal in Jammu after eight years. Singh left his village in 1999 when the Kargil conflict broke out. His land had then been dotted with anti-personnel landmines, and although demining began in 2004, Singh and other farmers had stayed away from cultivation until now, wary of forgotten land mines.
"We were scared. Some mines had been drifted and were still present. One odd mine could blow off anytime," says he.
In a bid to get farmers back to their fields, the Army is now is running bulldozers and tractors over a thousand acres of demined fields checking for any unaccounted land mines.
Says Chief Engineer 16 Corps, R Bassi, "We are running bulldozers, which are now being followed by the civil tractors. Hopefully this will help farmers in regaining their confidence.
After the Kargil war and Operation Para-kram in 2001, mines were laid over 2,500 acres of agricultural land. Over 1,400 acres have been cleared so far and the district administration is pressing for more.
Says Deputy Commissioner, Hridesh Kumar, "We have requested Army authorities to vacate more areas for the good of the people. It will restore peoples' livelihoods."
This vast expanse of land had once been a part of the state's rice bowl but now with peace, the land starts yet another journey from barrenness to hopefully a good harvest.
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