Pakistan's rocket-shelling plunges market price of land beyond border

Chak Allah Bakhash (Punjab), Sept. 15 (ANI): The prices of farming land have plunged following past week's rocket-shelling incident in the India-Pakistan border villages.

Local farmers say that it was already quite tough to find buyers for the land situated beyond fencing and the latest rocket-shelling incident has caused the prices to drop further.

Fenced from three sides, Village Chak Allah Bakhash at the International border has nearly 150 acres of land beyond fencing.

Balwinder Kaur, one of the natives in village Chak Allah Bakhash, said that it was already difficult for her to meet the daily expenditure.

Sucha Singh, another villager, said: "My family owns a piece of land across fencing and has been facing many difficulties while cultivating the land at the border. There are no takers for our land."

Nearly 553 km long barbed fencing of the Punjab border along side Pakistan resulted in thousands of acres of land being left beyond fencing.

The price of the land spread before fencing line is nearly three times higher than the vast land spread beyond the fencing.

An acre of land, located before fencing, is available for approximately 600,000 to 10,00,000 rupees whereas more fertile land, located beyond the fencing, is worth about 200,000 to 300,000 rupees per acre.

Mandatory frisking by security men at the border gates of the fence and restricted working hours and few objections could be some of the reasons for a lesser price of land beyond fencing.

The farmers are worried that it would be difficult to find buyers for their lands. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)