Life returning to normal in Rajouri after ceasefire

Rajouri, May 13: Two days after the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, normal life is gradually returning to the border villages of Rajouri district.

In the shelling-affected Mankote Keriyan village of Rajouri,  shops reopened on Tuesday afternoon, with residents venturing out to purchase basic essentials.  The area suffered heavily from Pakistani shelling, resulting in damage to many houses.

After staying indoors since the shelling began, people are now slowly resuming their daily activities.

" Although life is not yet completely  back to normal, the partial resumption of activities has brought some relief and some people visited shops today, " said Rishiv Sasan, a local resident.  He added that the reopening of shops and resumption of some normal activities is a positive sign. However, it may take some time for life to return to complete normal in the border villages.

Kamal Kishore Sharma, the shopkeeper, said that hardly 10 percent customers arrived at his shop as compared to normal days. “Still it is a good sign as earlier shop remained closed for days together and there was hardly any life seen on roads and everyone was hidden inside houses,”he said.