Scenic J&K meadow branded a 'death trap' after stray Army fire kills and maims locals

This is the image of a vast meadow called Tosamaidan, the starting-point of a three-kilometre trek across the Pir Panchal mountain range, also known as the King of Meadows.

The view of the meadow, which locals claim is bigger than 50 Gulmargs spreading over parts of Budgam and Poonch districts, is breathtaking.



Yet, unlike Gulmarg, very few tourists visit this place, as it has proved to be a death trap for dozens of people, mainly locals, in the past.



In 1965, the J&K government gave a portion of the picturesque Tosamaidan (below) to the Army for artillery firing (as above)







In 1965, the Jammu and Kashmir government had given a portion of Tosamaidan on lease to the Army for artillery firing. From April to November every year since, the Army has fired artillery shells from different villages of Budgam above the Pir Panchal mountains towards the Tosamaidan firing zone.



At times the ammunition lands outside the firing zone, which leads to casualties.

On September 8, 1992, three children who were in Tosamaidan to graze their cattle were blown to pieces after "an abandoned object" they were playing with exploded. Villagers later collected pieces of their flesh to bury them.



This year in June, 31-year-old Bashir Ahmad Malik of Shunglipora was killed when an unexploded shell exploded in the meadow.



This villager lost one of his hands, and is far from the only victim of stray army fire

Muhammad Akram Sheikh, the village sarpanch, says that over the years 54 people from his village alone have been killed by the artillery and unexploded shells in the area. Apart from artillery firing, villagers claim, bombs are dropped from warplanes in the area.

The government says 65 people have died so far in Tosamaidan in various incidents; however, locals say the number of dead people could be far higher as the victims' kin refrain from registering FIRs in several cases.



"Loss of livestock we don't count. They might have died in thousands," a villager said.



The lease of the firing zone is going to end in April 2014 and the army has already applied for its extension. Protesting the move, villagers from all across Budgam district have formed a committee called Tosamaidan Bachao Front.

"We are not against the Army. If the Army has a camp in Tosamaidan, let them have another one. Our fight is with the government. It should not extend lease to the Army for firing range.



"Once lease is not extended, the area will develop. It has huge tourism potential," says Muhammad Maqbool, general secretary of the Front.



The villagers have given representation to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and local MLAs, who have all verbally assured that lease will not be granted but there is nothing in writing.



"If only firing range is shifted to some other place, Tosamaidan will be the best tourist destination in Kashmir. Gulmarg is nothing when you compare it with Tosamaidan. Persian travellers named it Tosamaidan, which means the king of meadows… We will fight for its right," said Dr Ghulam Rasool Sheikh, an RTI activist who treks in the area.



Police officers say the people who take their cattle to Tosamaidan are forewarned about the risks, though the locals deny the claim.



