Londi in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, today resembles a war-torn village. Deserted streets, abandoned houses and pock marks created by Pakistani bullets. The villagers have fled to safer environs some 10 km away at the Hiranager tehsil headquarters leaving behind their belongings and more importantly their only source of income - cattle.

With the exodus of 150 families from Londi, the biggest casualty have been about 200-odd cows and buffaloes. ``What option do we have. When we migrated we were not even sure about our settlement and bringing the cattle along could have compounded our woes,'' says Jagat Chand a senior citizen of Londi. It is the psychological fear of being hit by a Pakistani bullet that prevents them from going back to their village. ``If theRangers spot us they would fire at us. Result is that our cattle are there unattended,'' Jagat laments.

Villagers fear that if the stalemate continues, the unattended cattle would soon die for want of fodder. ``Since we can't go there the animals are not getting proper feed. If things continue like this then several cattles will die,'' fears Dhuni Ram of the same village. Already, couple of emaciated cows have reportedly fallen sick but their owners have not gone back to provide necessary medical aid. It is not for the first time that the helpless animals in Londi find themselves in a precarious condition. They have on numerous occasion been the target of bizarre firing by the Rangers. ``The Pakistani Rangers have been targeting these poor creatures in order to damage the confidence of the villagers and force them to migrate,'' a BSF officer said.

Official sources said that the Pakistani firing has already resulted in serious and minor injuries to about 30 cattle during the last couple of months, some ofwhich later succumbed to their injuries. ``We have seen our cattle die in front of us. And given the fact that these animals are an important source of income to us, we feel distressed by the sight of watching our animals die,'' laments another villager. Understandably, the migrated villagers have been fighting for the compensation for their animals. ``The rules provide for compensation for cattle lost or injured in the Pakistan firing only in the villages in the proximity of Line of Control and not the International Border. This is not justified,'' says a member of the Border Union which is spearheading the agitation for compensation.

And those few who have dared to go back desperate to ascertain the plight of the animals are appalled at the sight. ``My cow has been lying unattended for the last three days. I immediately took her to the hospital but the guilt of leaving her behind unattended hurts me,'' says Lal Singh.The District officials claim that they have been providing relief to the villages whosecattle are dead or injured.

Claims apart, it seems it would take a while before the sufferings of animals and their owners come to an end.