Akhnoor –
Sunderbani – Rajouri – Bhimber Gali – Surankote – Baffliaz – Shopian – Pulwama
– Srinagar
When we woke up
at Chenab Hut, I am not sure whether we felt fortunate or unfortunate that we
didn’t hear any shelling. Upon looking at the map later, we observed that this
was a place where we were the closest to the International Border (let alone
LOC) – I really believe no place I have slept or will sleep in future will be
so close to any Indian Border.
As planned, we
got ready by 6:45 AM and buzzed our hosts. Quickly capturing few pictures, we
left for the highlight of our trip. 900m ahead, a right turn took us to
Sunderbani quicker than the old Poonch Road. The BRO JE kept calling us to
check our progress every hour and as expected, during the last hour his calling
came more frequent. All along the way, there were regular army patrols ensuring
safety. Through these areas or otherwise, one phrase always keeps me busy: “One
Man’s Terrorist is Another Man’s Freedom Fighter”. But I always convince myself
with that Dialogue from Shootout at Lokhandwala “There is going to be at least
One Man standing with the Gun outside your house. What do you want him to be?”
|
7AM With Flash |
|
7 AM Without Flash |
|
Rajouri |
|
Bhimber Gali |
|
Link Road Starts |
Anyway, our
route took us to Bhimber Gali avoiding Rajouri Town (though the GPS showed the
road ending at Bhimber Gali). We confirmed that we were following the right way
by following the chainage of Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch road. We actually don’t
remember the name of the village we stopped – all we remember is it was
chainage 204. We were treated to delicious bread & other veg besan pakoras
with tea. As we left after clicking pictures of the LOC ridge, the Link Road
from Bhimber Gali to Surankote took us south towards Rajouri. This Link Road
shows up on GPS as a trail like the Mughal Road.
|
Mughal Road Starts |
We were told
that in the gone days, Surankote was the hub of militant activity where the
teams arrived and were then distributed across the valley by their area
commanders. We passed through Buffliaz bridge and were welcomed by the Mughal
Road. Soon after making the entry at the first check point, we reached the
second check point which was now very close to Pir Ki Gali.
|
Buffliaz Bridge |
|
Pir Ki Gali |
|
Zaznar - Proposed Tunnel Project |
|
Mughal Road ends into Shopian |
After having a
gala time at the top, the descent into Shopian & Pulwama led us through to
Srinagar and a tough task started – finding a “Decent Hotel” (pun intended).
After a lot of storming, we checked into Hotel Welcome – the only one hotel
that was fully functional on the Boulevard Road. The Electric Blanket was a
pleasant surprise. The news of our arrival in Srinagar back home didn’t worry our
Dad as much as the fact that we drove through Pulwama approach.