WUNRN
Women's Feature Service
India - New Delhi
By Tripti Nath
INDia05c: Raj Kaur, 55, who has lost both her legs below the knees, with her prosthetic aids. (Credit: Tripti Nath\WFS)
Fazilka, Punjab (Women's Feature
Service) - The rural folk of Fazilka, a sub-division in
Many have lost their lives to landmines
laid in innumerable villages along the international border in
Seven years back, Raj Kaur, 55, an
inhabitant of village Bhamba Wattu in sub-division Fazilka, just six kilometres
from the
Recalling the tragic day that changed
her life, Raj Kaur says her husband, Balbir Singh, rushed her to the civil
hospital in Jalalabad, 33 kilometers away. The civil hospital administered
first aid and then referred them to the army hospital in district headquarters,
Ferozepur, 85 kilometres away, where she received prosthetic aids that served
her for some time. It was only last February that she succeeded in getting
proper prosthetic aids at a camp organised by Rotary International and the
Society for All Round Development (SARD), a Delhi-based NGO.
While the family has received financial
assistance, it has been inadequate. The compensation from the government that
Balbir Singh secured after running from pillar to post was just Rs 1,50,000
(US$1=Rs 46.8). Using the interest-free loan of Rs 10,000 granted by the
Delhi-based Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, courtesy the intervention of SARD, the
couple helped their younger son, Jaswant, open a barber's shop. Bemoans Raj
Kaur, "I was earning almost Rs 4,000 a month as an agricultural labourer.
The accident has left me incapacitated. We have no land."
Another landless labour, Surjeet Kaur
of village Behak Khas, about eight kilometres from the border, has been coping
with disability for almost six years. "I had gone to fetch fodder for the
livestock when my right foot slipped and I stepped on a landmine. All that is
left of the foot today is the heel."
Surjeet Kaur already had a handicap in
her left foot. One of her toes had been amputated when she was six as a result
of a snake bit. "I had learnt to manage with an amputated toe but it is
difficult to manage without a heel. The army helped me get a prosthetic aid
from
Struggling to make ends meet, Surjeet
Kaur's husband, Harbans Singh, moves from village to village in search of work
as a daily wage agricultural labourer. Surjeet Kaur, too, is now camping in
Kheo Wali Dhab - 15 kilometres from her home, with the children being left in
the care of her mother-in-law - to earn a living.
So why doesn't she simply take time out
to get a prosthetic? "The choice is between two square meals a day or
prosthetics. Before the landmine accident, I was working as an agricultural
labourer," answers the victim, matter-of-factly, as she explains that she
has no money to travel.
A mere two kilometres from the border,
in Jhangal Baini village, Mitoo Bai, 35, lives with her pre-teen children.
Mitoo was in her 20s, when lost her right foot after stepping on a landmine
seven years ago when she had gone to the fields to gather fodder. Today she
hops around the house with the help of a rod. While she has had prosthetic
boots made twice over since then, she feels they are no good, "Now I wear
sports shoes and walk with great difficulty. When my foot hurts a lot, I take
pain-killers."
Like the other women, Mitoo struggles
to make ends meet. "We got Rs 1,50,000 from the Centre but that is not
enough compensation for life-long disability. Should the state government not
be sensitive to our condition?" she asks.
Sources in the army say that the
Ministry of Defence gives ex gratia compensation to civilian victims of
landmine casualties: "The policy has been in place since January 2003. The
army gives Rs 2,50,000 to next of kin in cases of casualty; Rs 2,00,000 in
cases of 100 per cent disability; Rs 1,50,000 in cases of disability assessed
between 50 to 100 per cent; and Rs 1,00,000 in cases where disability is below
50 per cent. The Ministry of Defence continues to lend this assistance. The
paper work, of course, is very exhaustive."
The army disagrees with the victims'
grievance that it has not cared to follow up on prosthesis: "No patient
has come back to us. If they approach us, follow-up action will be taken. If we
have gone all the way for getting prosthesis fitted, nothing really holds us
back from organising a follow-up. Funds for the expenses incurred on
transportation, accommodation, diet, treatment, including cost of prosthesis,
were provided by the services concerned. Artificial limb centres in
It also rejects the criticism that
warning markers on several acres of land along the India-Pakistan border were
either missing or were not legible. Sources in the army said: "During Operation
Parakram, the army had laid landmines, which were absolutely in consonance with
very well-practised, relevant and standard operating procedures. These include
physical verification of the mines, meticulous drill of laying the mines.
Special emphasis was laid on the recording and marking of each minefield to
prevent civilian casualties. The army made special efforts to ensure safety of
the civilian population. Caution notices were given to all border villages,
state and district administration. Local police was informed of the presence of
minefields. Prominent perimeter fencing with barbed wires and conspicuous
marking with perimetre marking and warning signs both in English and vernacular
language at close intervals of the entire space of minefield to indicate
presence of minefields to alert civilians. Constant monitoring of minefields
was carried on by the physical guarding of civilians and patrolling."
The army claims that almost all
minefields were de-mined after Operation Parakram: "Yes, drifting mines
are there due to melting of snow or sub soil erosion. Whenever, it comes to our
notice, we take care."
Yet, repeated assurances by the army of
landmine clearance from agricultural fields fail to allay the fears of
civilians. Many among them now struggle with disability and poverty in a region
known for the high value of its fertile agricultural land but troubled by
hidden danger.
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