Rajouri, Poonch youths relieved as normalcy returns
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Poonch, June 9
With normalcy returning to the state, youths of Rajouri and Poonch districts, once considered as hotbed of militancy, have heaved a sigh of relief. Gone are the days when the youths used to stay indoors after the sunset due to the fear of becoming a victim of some militancy related incident.

Due to this, many fell prey to psychiatric ailments with sizeable population taking
refuge to drugs. Now, the youths are not only venturing outside their homes till
late in the evening, but frequently visiting the tourism spots in the far-flung areas
of these districts.

“During militancy, we had never thought of moving out in the evening because of the fear of falling prey to some militancy related incident and thus, we preferred to stay indoors. There are numerous tourist spots in our district but we couldn’t go to these places,” says Saqib Khan, a student and resident of Poonch.

“However, with things returning to normalcy, we keep on moving in the markets till late in the evening. In the past two months, we went for picnics to tourist places like the Loran valley, Noori Chamb and Mandi a number of times”.

Another youth, Shivani, a student and resident of Rajouri, says “Things have now changed for better for the youths who were hit the most by insurgency. The youths in our districts are a happy lot as they are reaping the dividends of peace returning to the state”. “I wish that militancy vanishes completely from our state and our homeland once again smiles with joy,” she adds.

DIG, Rajouri-Poonch Range, SDS Jamwal told The Tribune, “There has been a considerable reduction in militancy related incidents in these border districts”. “The youths have definitely benefited with life becoming normal in twin border districts”.