Porters carrying relief material from PoK had a tougher time, as the road from Chakoti to the Aman Setu wasn’t ready. It was double the load, for they also had to carry back the bulk of the aid gifted by India. While the Aman Setu was severely damaged in the October 8 quake, a small bridge set up by the army engineers facilitated the exchange of relief material. Thankfully, nothing like the first exchange of relief material, which took place at Chakande-Bagh in the Jammu region and led to riots in PoK—forcing the Pakistani authorities to use tear gas to control the mobs—happened here. The exchange of relief material at the Aman Setu went off peacefully as officials had planned the opening to some degree. Hopefully, once people begin regularly travelling across the LoC, the opening will gain more significance.
Anxious residents looking forward to cross over to meet their relatives were happy though to learn that travel forms would be made available at the district headquarters. Earlier, travel forms were only available in Muzaffarabad and Srinagar.
