Agra: Stray bullets from the Army's firing range of Agra Cantonment have killed and injured several villagers of Kotli Bagichi and Saimer village, which are located two km away from the firing range. The villagers live in constant fear of being hit by stray bullets. They complain that such incidents take place almost everyday. Ajay Singh, a resident of Kotli, was performing his daily chores on Tuesday (March 1) when he was hit by a bullet on his knee.

      "Almost everyday stray bullets injure someone or other. Five six months back, our neighbouring family was badly hit. Our neighbour's mother, sister and his brother in-law were killed. Just two-three days back, a stray bullet hit the head of an eight-year old girl. We keep complaining but nobody listens to us," said Ajay Singh, a resident of Kotli Bagicha.      

     The bullets have left a scar in the lives of many. The scar at Nathuram Singh's face has left a devastating effect on his life. He said he could not get a bride becuase of the scar on his face. The fear of being hit by bullet has overpowered their lives. Parents do not allow their children to freely play in the open in fear that they would be victim of a stray bullet The villagers' complaints have gone unheard. Often they are silenced by the scathing answer from the army to vacate the village.

A villager injured by a stray bullet in Kotli Bagicha village of Agra.

      "The firing exercise is an everyday affair here. It is a big problem for our children, who are often injured by stray bullets. We keep complaining but nobody replies to our plight. Instead they want us to vacate our homes," said Kamala, a villager. The villagers allege that they are not given any warning by the Army authorities, before undertaking any kind of firing exercises. "We have suggested that they should tell us the timing of their firing exercises, give us and intimation of their timings so that people would take precaution. They haven't done anything till now," said Nagpal Singh Verma, a local.

      Though the exercise has been going on for years and the villagers have been making complaints, the district administration took a typical bureaucratic approach to the suffering of the villagers. "We came to know about it a few days back. After investigation and taking statements from the villagers we shall inform it to the army and wait for their response," said Neetishwar Kumar, District Magistrate, Agra. The villages Kotli Bagichi and Saimer, surrounding the cantonment, have approximately 60,000 villagers, who have been settled in the area for more than 20 years.
Mar 21, 2005