Frontier villages in Jammu and Kashmir have had their first night of calm in three weeks but the road back to normalcy for the tens of thousands of border residents seems fraught with challenges.

Three weeks of relentless Pakistani shelling, which intensified after India launched Operation Sindoor, have left at least 21 people dead — including several children — and dozens injured in the border villages.

Deepak Chimbakhan, a BSF trooper injured in shelling, died of his wounds on Sunday night, taking the death toll among soldiers to six. Initial surveys indicate that hundreds of homes and other properties have been destroyed. Worse, villages remain littered with unexploded ordnance (UXOs).

The army on Monday confirmed the absence of any cross-border firing on Sunday night.

“The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu & Kashmir and other areas along the International Border. No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” an army statement said.

India and Pakistan had agreed to stop firing on each other from 5pm on Saturday but there were multiple violations by Pakistan over the following 24 hours, drawing Indian retaliation.

Devinder Singh, former sarpanch of Pahadiwalla village in Jammu’s Khour region, said people began returning home immediately after Saturday’s announcement of the cessation of cross-border firing. “But it was hell during (Saturday) night. Our village has rarely seen shelling in the past, but we were pounded that night,” he said.

“Several other villages were similarly tormented. Luckily, there were no casualties; but multiple houses were damaged.”

He added: “There was fresh migration yesterday (Sunday) morning.”

The government on Monday urged people to return home, with chief minister Omar Abdullah taking the lead as he visited worst-hit Poonch district.

“Eighty to 90 per cent of Poonch town is vacant. They had left during the shelling. Now that the shelling has stopped, they can return home,” Omar, accompanied by sons Zamir and Zahir and senior ministers, told reporters in Poonch.

He said the town had lost 13 lives and that his purpose was to share its pain.

The Right-wing ecosystem had invoked Poonch to stoke communal sentiments, accusing Pakistan of attacking minority religious places there. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri too said a gurudwara had been targeted.

Omar denied these reports and said the firing was random, with no religious places directly targeted. The 13 dead include 8 Muslims, 4 Sikhs and a Hindu.

The chief minister said he didn’t know Pakistan’s intentions but the absence of firing in the last 24 hours suggested the cessation of hostilities was holding. He urged people to return home.

One of the residents’ biggest worries is the unexploded shells; another is the damaged homes. The army has begun disposing of the UXOs, allowing the residents of certain villages to return.

Police said they had received reports about at least 20 UXOs lying scattered across 17 locations in Baramulla district.

They said seven UXOs were safely disposed of in six villages — Kamalkote, Madhan, Gowhallan, Salamabad (Bijhama), Gangerhill and Gawalta — in the Uri sector of Baramulla. People were on Monday allowed to return to these six border villages.

The police have issued an advisory emphasising the UXO threat and asking people not to approach suspicious objects.

While the limp back to normalcy is expected to be slow in the border villages, things are improving fast in the rest of Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials on Monday said the aerodrome closure notice had been revoked and Srinagar airport was ready to handle flights again. They said they were waiting for the airlines’ response.

Later in the evening, Shujaat Ahmad Qureshi, executive officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Hajj Committee, said Hajj flights would resume from Tuesday.

Education minister Sakina Itoo said all schools in the non-border areas would reopen on Tuesday.

Drones sighted

A small number of suspected drones were spotted near Samba in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday night, the army said, adding they were being engaged and there was no need to panic.