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Dr. Shazad Ahmed Malik, Chairman JK-BADC and former Vice Chancellor, said that as per statements of union ministers and information available in the media, the Government of India has sanctioned and released millions of rupees to the J & K governemnt for bunker construction in border areas.
The Centre's intention and commitment toward border residents is clear. However he expressed concern that the Jammu and Kashmir Government and local administration have been slow in moving things forward and have shared very little with the people about where the project actually stands today.
He said people living in these areas have a right to know how many bunkers are fully complete, how many are still under construction and how many are yet to begin. This is not information that residents should have to chase or ask for repeatedly. The district administration must issue a monthly status report on bunker construction so that there is accountability and people feel assured that work is genuinely moving forward.
Dr. Shazad reminded that border residents, especially those of Poonch, have not forgotten May 2025. When cross border shelling was at its peak, bunkers were the only place families could run to for safety. Men, women, children and the elderly all took shelter there. That memory is still very much alive in every household along the border. Given that lived experience, the continued slow pace and silence around this project is something people find very hard to accept.
He appealed to the administration to treat bunker construction as a matter directly linked to human lives and not just another entry in a government project list. The monthly data regarding funds spent on these construction of bunkers must be put on official website of district Poonch.
