As India is celebrating the Indian army’s surgical strikes against Pakistan, thousands of villagers near the Line of Control who were ordered by the government to vacate are upset. This is because of lack of government support in the evacuation. The villagers also fear for the safety of their homes and property.

Local residents in Punjab’s Attari sector said: "we feel abandoned by the local administration with little support in getting transportation or choosing possible destinations, more than 24 hours after the government announced the evacuation of villages in border areas."

“No government officer has reached the village. Just an announcement was made. I sent my children and wife. I am staying back to ensure my house is safe,” said Angrej Singh, a resident of Daoke village that is meters away from the LoC fence. Two-thirds of the village’s 3,000 people have left.

They added that they are forced to carry their luggage and call up relatives for asylum as the local administration’s promises of tents, shelters, and transport which hasn’t come through.

The evacuation was ordered as relations between New Delhi and Islamabad crash following the army’s announcement of surgical strikes against “terror launchpads” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, amid fears of retaliation by the neighboring country.

The affected villages are within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border in the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Fazilka and Ferozepur.

The authorities are making alternative arrangements for about 15 lakh people likely to be displaced in the six districts.

Many families have sent the women and children away but the men are staying back to ward off thieves, often standing in fields with swords to guard their property.

"We were informed about the tactical strike on Thursday morning after which we started the evacuation process. The Union home secretary has informed us of the possibility of retaliation. We have activated the state disaster management committee," Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said.

“Anyone can take an advantage of such a situation. People in border villages are under stress and thefts will break them. People are worried of their houses, cattle, and crop,” said Saab Singh of Daoke.

“We did not sleep. We stood in the villages with swords in hand all night,” said Kashmir Kaur of Daoke.

In addition, many fear that widespread looting may break out soon if police and officials don’t arrive to direct the evacuation efforts.

“The government says leave but what about our belongings? How much can we carry? Anyone can break into our home and loot,” said Sukhdev Singh of Mode village.

But the administration has rebuffed the allegations, saying it needs some time before informing villagers about the location of shelters and arranging transport.

“We are on the job and have already identified places for shelters that will be operational by Friday evening,” said deputy commissioner Varun Roojam.

“”We are very serious and for transportation 20 buses have been taken. Tie up has been done with the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee for food.”

Transport has emerged as a major problem and many say people with no relatives in faraway places have nowhere to go.

“People are making their own arrangements to leave. What about those with no relatives in cities? How do they go if they don’t have own transport? Public transport does not reach here,” said Surjit Singh, a resident of Mullakot village, which was captured by Pakistan in the 1971 war.

Dyal Singh, who had gone to evacuate his daughter Baljit Kaur from Daoke, said he had arranged everything by himself.

The Border Security Force said it was on high alert and didn’t let farmers go near the LoC fence.

“We do not know when this order stays. But till that time, we are asked to stay away from the fence,” said villager Harjap Singh in Daoke.

Sources in the Army's Western Command said "the evacuation was a precautionary measure. It was not that they had received specific information about a retaliatory strike from Pakistan but they are not ruling out mortar shelling from across the border. By afternoon, there was already a sense of urgency in the villages."

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BY M. DIVYA SRI