Ceasefire violations in J&K killed 31 civilians, 39 security personnel since abrogation of Article 370, Centre tells LS

New Delhi: As many as 31 civilians and 39 security personnel were killed in cross-border firing and ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August, 2019, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said incidents of ceasefire violations and cross border firing by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir have been reported for decades and immediate and effective retaliation is undertaken by security forces in such cases. “Thirty-one civilians were killed and 39 security force personnel were martyred in such incidents from August 5, 2019 to February 28, 2021,” he said in a written reply to a question. Reddy said the central government has sanctioned construction of 14,460 bunkers (1,431 community bunkers and 13,029 individual bunkers) to provide protection to the people living in areas close to the IB and LoC and to safeguard human lives in the event of cross-border firing. Out of these, 7,856 bunkers have already been constructed in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.