Tithwal (J&K), Nov 1: A neat white line drawn in the middle of a suspension bridge that sits right on
the Line of Control separates the border village of India's Tithwal and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and
Kashmir (PoJK). The bridge has seen wars and tumultuous phases of history in the heavily militarised
region.
With a ceasefire understanding reached between India and Pakistan since February last year,
resulting in peace and tranquillity here, many residents of this Jammu and Kashmir village are now
appealing that the crossing point over the Kishanganga river be again reopened to allow passage and
“connect hearts” of people on both sides.
The bridge, constructed in 1931 by the then princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, has seen the
bloody Partition in 1947 and the tragic human migrations that accompanied it, witnessed wars
between India and Pakistan and see-sawing relationship between the two countries over the last 75
years. The 160-ft-long wooden suspension bridge on Kishanganga — called Neelum in Pakistan — is
one of the four crossing points on the LoC.
The bridge, officially called the Chilehana Tithwal Crossing Point (CTCP), is heavily guarded on both
sides.
Since the ceasefire understanding last year, “curiosity of people has grown” from both sides to know
about each other, Indian Army officials said.
Zameer Ahmad, 55, the Numberdar of Tithwal village, located 175 kms from Srinagar, said that “the
village on the PoJK side across the river has become a tourist point and people come there from
Muzaffarabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi to see the LoC and life in India”.
He pointed to a restaurant perched on the edge of a hill with a Pakistani flag on it and a group of
people curiously looking towards Tithwal from a street built on a higher elevation in the hills which
face the Indian village. India and Pakistan are “brothers, separated at birth”. Now, the two sides
should try to achieve lasting peace “through talks and without any fight”, Ahmad said.
“After the Partition, the land got divided overnight but families were living on both sides of
Kishanganga. Many children got separated from their parents, others lost their relatives in wars
between the two sides. But they yearn to go back to their ancestral place to at least see it or reunite
with separated family members,” he said. “Now, with the ceasefire since early last year, resulting in
peace in the area, the crossing point at Tithwal should be reopened for people on both sides with
proper permit,” Ahmad said.
Army sources said that ceasefire violations had impacted regular life in Tithwal “enormously”. The
locals couldn't move freely during any time of the day and schools weren't regular, they said.
Since the ceasefire understanding, there has been a “marked improvement in the routine activities”,
a source said.
The old bridge was destroyed by Kabaili raiders from the Pakistan side in 1948. It was rebuilt jointly
by India and Pakistan in 1988, official sources said. “Citizens from both sides were allowed to move
across the bridge on every second and fourth Thursdays on a special permit. This move has been
stopped post August 5, 2019. The special permit was valid for a fortnight,” an Army source said.
Civilians who have since then inadvertently wandered on to the other side have been repatriated as
humanitarian gestures. A young boy from the other side had been repatriated on September 25, the
last such repatriation from the Indian side, the source said.
Tithwal village with a population is 1,270 is the second last village along the LoC, Simari being the
last, and is located between the LoC and the AIOS (anti-inflitration obstacle system), a fencing layer
of concertina wires.
Ajaz Ahmad, member of a committee that is working to rebuild an old temple dedicated to goddess
Sharada in Tithwal village, appealed to both the Indian and Pakistani governments to allow opening
of the Tithwal crossing point so that pilgrims can easily go to the ancient Sharada Peeth located in
PoJK after reaching the Tithwal temple.
Signs of patriotism are obvious around the bridge with a huge tricolour hoisted on a towering
flagpole and a small wooden gate near the river, which leads to the bridge, painted in a tricolour
theme with ‘Mera Desh Mahan' inscribed on both sides of it, but signs of hope for achieving lasting
peace are also there. Near the bridge there is also a ‘Sarva Dharm Sthal' and an open gate — barely
a few metres from the iron gate that leads to the Tithwal bridge — carries an inscription on top that
reads “Bridging the Divide for Peace and Prosperity Tithwal”.
Also, sweets are exchanged between the two sides on Independence Day, Republic Day and New
Year's Day, as also on Eid and Diwali festivals. Ahmad calls the Tithwal crossing point a “bridge of
hope (‘aman ki umeed')” and, said though the bridge itself is divided, it may help bridge the divide
between the two neighbours.
