Reiterating government's commitment to safeguarding the interests of border people, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said that the Centre is fully aware of the hardships being faced by border people and has been taking a number of initiatives to address them.

Addressing the border shelling affected people in the RS Pura town along the Indo-Pak Border in Jammu this afternoon, Mr Singh said Centre is creating two special battalions, for the youth living in border areas of the state. Home Minister also reiterated that the border youths will be provided 60 percent quota

in special five IRP battalions being set up from J&K and over 2 thousand boys and girls from border areas will be recruited as SPOs in the state police. He said that government is contemplating on the construction of Seema-Bhawans' even as over 14 thousand individual and community bunkers' are being constructed for the safety of the shelling affected people in border areas of the state.

Responding to demands of the farmers of the area, the Home Minister assured that Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojna in the border areas would also have the special provision of the crop destroyed in the cross-border shelling.