Gelephu (Bhutan), Dec. 16: For the better part of last night, neither the residents of this town nor the people of Datgiri-Hatisar, on the Indian side of the Indo-Bhutan border, could sleep in peace. The sound of heavy gunfire rent the air throughout the night, signalling the beginning of a war the people had hoped would never take place.
However, the only sign of activity today in the border towns of Gelephu and Datgiri-Hatisar were of senior military officials barking instructions to their juniors.
On the Indian side of the border, troops were in the same state of alert, creating the ambience of a war zone. Indian army helicopters flew into Bhutan and out, carrying injured Bhutanese soldiers.
The army camp at Hatisar came up only yesterday, but resembled one existing for long. Shaktiman trucks carrying soldiers in full combat gear rolled in throughout the day.
With the border being sealed, not a single vehicle from Bhutan entered India, while those headed for the Himalayan kingdom from Datgiri were stopped at Gelephu. ?Our trucks were sent back from Gelephu,? Kala Basumatary, a trader who collects boulders from Bhutan, said.
Basumatary, hailing from Datgiri, said the Bhutanese troops deployed at the border checkgate became unusually strict around noon yesterday. ?They intensified checking. It was not like before and we knew something was wrong.?
Gangamaya Dorjee, who sells oranges in Datgiri, found Gelephu much different from what it usually is. ?I buy oranges from there and sell them in Datgiri. The situation in Bhutan has changed.?
Residents of Datgiri-Hatisar said they heard the first sounds of gunfire around 10am and these continued through the night.
?We initially thought boulders were being loaded. When the sounds did not stop till late evening, we realised these were gunshots. The action was taking place on the other side of the Taklai river, Kuklung and Sorbhang across the border,? Perenga Basumatary, a resident of Hatisar, said.
Towards the east, at Samdrup Jonkhar, pigeons hovered over the magnificent office building of the deputy commissioner. Buddhist monks chanted hymns as part of morning prayers, but not very far away, towards the north of the border town, troops of the Royal Bhutan Army were engaged in gunbattles with militants of the Ulfa and the NDFB.
The tension on the faces of the townsfolk was evident even as they went about their daily chores.
To them, the presence of officials of the ministry of foreign affairs and hordes of journalists from India in their town signified something was wrong.
?We are taking no chances. Security has been beefed up like never before. This is the first time that the country has gone to war,? an official in the deputy commissioner?s office said.
The director at the ministry of foreign affairs, Yeshi Dorjee, echoed him. ?We hope we will be successful. We have to be.?