The 553-kilometer India-Pakistan border stretches across six districts in Punjab—Ferozepur, Fazilka, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, and Amritsar. In these areas, villagers remain calm and committed to their daily routines.Subash Sharma, a resident of Bareka village in Fazilka, whose home is about one kilometer from the zero line, said, “Life is going on normally. Yes, there’s mental pressure about what could happen in the coming days. People call us after watching the news, but children are attending school and we are working in the fields. I have two and a half acres beyond the border fence but before the zero line—no farmers have been allowed there for the last three days as the BSF has closed the gates. I have another 12 acres on this side, where I’ve already harvested the wheat crop and am preparing to sell it at the grain market.”Naseeb Singh of Palla Magha village in Ferozepur, located two and a half kilometers from the zero line, owns 15 acres of land. He said, “There is a strong sentiment across the country demanding retaliation for the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam. But villagers here believe that any conflict would mostly affect the Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir borders, as in previous wars. Life is otherwise normal—I’ve harvested my crop, though it was damaged due to today’s rain. Relatives call us daily, worried about war, but we’re living our lives normally.”Another villager recalled that during the Kargil war, people needed a signed slip from the village sarpanch and clearance from the Army to leave the village.Gurdeep Singh of Thaman village in Gurdaspur district, located three kilometers from the international border, said, “We’ve received no special directions from the Army or BSF. Life is normal here. Life in border villages is different.”Other farmers cultivating land beyond the fence and near the zero line said they face many ongoing challenges, such as frequent crop damage by wild animals crossing from Pakistan, labor shortages due to restricted entry hours, limitations on crop height, and an inability to check crops during floods, hailstorms, or other extreme weather events.Even as tensions between the nuclear-armed nations rise, and the summer temperatures soar, the spirit of the border villagers remains steady.
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