While the nation's attention is focused on the brave soldiers fighting it out under difficult conditions in the Kargil area, the stepped-up shelling along the international border and the Line of Control has forced several thousands to flee the villages. They have left behind most of their belongings and cattle and do not see hope of returning home in the near future with tension escalating on the border.

More and more migrants are pouring out of the five- to 10-km belt along the border every day. As per official records, about 60,000 villagers have already migrated. About 10,000 of these are staying in government buildings while the rest have scattered to live with their relatives. As one drives through from Akhnoor toJourian and beyond to Pallanwala, scores of tractor-trolleys, mini-trucks and mule carts, packed with essentials and household goods, can be seen moving towards Jammu.

Not a grain of ration has been provided to them either by the state government or the voluntary organisations till now. ``During and just before the 1971 war, when we were forced to flee, the state government had come up in a big way to provide us food and shelter. Several social organisations too had helped us, but no one has come forward even to ask our welfare this time,'' rues Jia Lal of Palanwala, who is camping with over 1,100 persons in the few rooms of Government High School, Devipur.

The ration and other commodities they had brought along are about to get exhausted and they fear that the present uncertainty is likely to last long. ``Some of us have actually exhausted foodgrains and are being helped by the other villagers. But for how long?'' asks Sunita Devi, who has to look after her four children.

Ranjit Kumar, whose family issharing two rooms with 40 others in Government Middle School, Dhanger, says they keep hearing on All India Radio that the Government had provided shelter and food for the migrants. ``Not a single minister has visited us and yet there are announcements that several ministers had been visiting the migrants,'' he adds.

The state government has, however, made provisions to supply ration at some of the points through the public distribution system (PDS). ``But we do not have enough money to buy these essentials,'' says Gitan Ram. ``Let the Government also provide us work as labourers.''

The local people in the villages where the migrants are putting up initially provided them with langar for a couple of days. However, like the migrants, most of the local villagers have little to spare. Almost all of them till small landholdings or are dependent on livestock to eke out a living.

``A couple of officials had come but they told us that the Government can supply them free rations only if the war breaks out,''discloses another angry and dejected migrant. ``Let there be a war. We are quite fed up with the incessant firing and shelling from across the border,'' he adds, pointing out that as per their past experience, the Pakistanis do not indulge in shelling for at least a decade after each war.

The fleeing villagers are also likely to miss out on the current sowing season and are not too sure about the safety of their cattle which they had left behind.

``We could not give anything to our children to eat when a squall hit the area day before yesterday,'' says Santo of Samu village. ``What will happen when the monsoon arrives or when we run out of our ration stocks,'' she asks.