There’s good news for farmers along the border. The realignment of fencing on the 40-km stretch of the 190-km Indo-Pak International Border in J-K, which is being taken closer to the border to facilitate more land to farmers for cultivation, is expected to be completed by the end of this year, official sources informed.

As a result, farmers in the border districts of Jammu, Samba and Kathua, will now be able to cultivate their lands that lay beyond the fencing, sources said.

In the mid-90s, approximately 40 km of the fencing had been shifted due to heavy cross-border firing, which resulted in several casualties. Farmers, whose farmlands lay in this area, had lost their lands. When the situation returned to normal, the Union Government decided to move the fencing closer to the international border.

When the realignment is completed, it will not only give more land to farmers for cultivation, but will also cover areas that were left-out, sources pointed out.

Jammu DIG (BSF), J B Sangwan, said: “The realignment work of the fencing, which is being executed on nearly 40 km, is under progress.”