Fazilka villagers return home after ceasefire

A majority of the villagers who had shifted to safer locations in the wake of hostilities on the border between India and Pakistan returned to their homes on Sunday — a day after both countries declared a ceasefire.

Hansa Singh, a former sarpanch of Mohar Jamsher village here, said half of around 1,300 residents of his village had left for safer locations after border tensions escalated.

After the announcement of the ceasefire, all returned today,” he said, adding that his village was surrounded by Pakistan on three sides.

Octogenarian Harbans Singh, a resident of Gulaba Bhaini village, said they were glad that swarming of drones from across the border had stopped following the understanding between the two countries.

“In the past, we were forced to shift to other places multiple times due to the outbreak of wars in 1965, 1971, 1999 and flash floods,” he recalled.

Panic had spread in border areas and Fazilka town on May 9 following drone attacks, prompting several villagers to leave their homes in the dead of the night.