Daijiworld Media Network - Jammu
Jammu, Aug 21: The Army safely disposed of a live mortar shell found along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday, officials said.
According to officials, the Army detected the live mortar shell in the Mankote sector of the LoC in Poonch. The shell was subsequently neutralised through a controlled disposal operation conducted by the Army’s bomb disposal squad (BDS) in the Dabraj area.
No injuries or damage to property were reported during the operation, officials added.
Unexploded mortar shells are frequently found by villagers and farmers in forward areas along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. Such ordnance is often unearthed during farming activities or after heavy rains, remnants of earlier cross-border shelling.
Army bomb disposal teams regularly carry out controlled detonations to safely neutralise the hazardous ammunition.
Authorities have advised people not to touch, move, kick or pick up any unexploded shell. They have also been urged to maintain a safe distance, warn others to stay away and immediately inform the nearest Army camp or local police station so that BDS personnel can safely dispose of the ordnance.
Landmines also pose a serious threat to security personnel and civilians living close to the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Army uses landmines as a tactical defensive barrier along the border to prevent illegal crossings and infiltration from across the LoC. Forward sectors, including areas around Poonch, Rajouri, Baramulla’s Uri sector and Akhnoor, have heavily monitored minefields.
Heavy rainfall and seasonal flooding can sometimes displace landmines from their mapped perimeters, carrying them towards nearby slopes and fields.
Dry summer and autumn conditions can also trigger forest fires near the zero line, occasionally causing exposed or displaced mines to detonate away from personnel.
Casualties and injuries have occasionally been reported during routine area-domination patrols or attempts by bomb disposal teams to safely neutralise displaced or deteriorated ordnance.