Centre sanctions building of over 14,000 underground bunkers along J&K border

The Centre has sanctioned construction of 14,460 underground bunkers at a cost of over Rs 415 crore for the security of people living close to the LoC and the International border in Jammu, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Wednesday.

She said the government would specify the building norms for all areas upto 5 km from the border. “Priority shall be given to bunkers, which are near the existing border outposts.”

“Every bunker should be within three km of the border and in the first line of sight from the IB and the LoC—first priority (0-1 km), second priority (1-2 km) and third priority (2-3



km),” she said.

“The project will be funded on a reimbursement basis through security-related expenditure as it relates to relief and rehabilitation of individuals. Besides, it must be ensured the work has not been funded by any other source or scheme of the government,” she said.

Mehbooba said the state government would submit a detailed list with the exact location of large community bunkers and a list of individual bunkers.Construction of bunkers has been a long-pending demand of border residents who have to migrate to safer places during cross-border firing and shelling.