Students take class in bunker in Arnia sector amid cross-border shelling

SHOGPUR (JAMMU): Even as most schools in the shell-struck Arnia sector in Jammu district kept shut, a government middle school in the border belt of Shogpur remained open on Friday with students taking regular classes hiding in a bunker.

Pakistan rangers resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling Thursday night in Arnia and R S Pura sectors of Jammu district.

The offensive that targeted different forward areas along the International Border lasted about seven hours and resulted in injuries to 2 BSF personnel and a woman.

“We all were terrorised by the firing in the night. We were stuck. Our parents told us that we would move out in the morning. But we told them we had to study. I came to school despite my family’s fears,” Sunita Kumari, a student, said.

Between 15 and 20 students of her school were taken by teachers to a bunker built in the school complex.

“We felt safe when teachers shifted us to the bunker,” the student said.

The late night firing struck fear among the residents of Arnia, a small town near the India-Pakistan border.

“There was heavy firing last night. There was fear. But when the firing stopped, all teachers came to school on time,” said a teacher of the government middle school in Shogpur.

A female teacher said whenever there is heavy shelling, which she said has been frequent in the past few years, students are taught in the bunker.

There has been no directive by the education department or administration on the closure of schools, however, several schools have asked students to stay at home, officials said. (PTI)