CHAKOTHI, Nov 17: Some 24 stranded residents of Indian-held Kashmir crossed the Line of Control from the Chakothi-Uri crossing on Thursday to reunite with their families. They were among 44 people who had arrived in Azad Kashmir by the trans-LoC bus service which was suspended in the aftermath of last month’s devastating earthquake.

The crossings took place on foot through a temporary wooden foot-bridge launched over a stream beneath the steel-made ‘peace bridge,’ a portion of which has nose-dived due to the powerful tremor.

Almost all returning Kashmiris - 20 men and 4 women - were elderly and some were helped by the police to reach the foot bridge through stairs cut into the slope of the hill while porters carried baggage on their heads.

India and Pakistan have opened five crossing points along the LoC — Chakothi-Uri being one of them — but so far only relief supplies have been exchanged whereas the civilians still desperately await permission to cross over to see and help their quake-stricken relatives.

Officials here put the blame on the Indians. “From day one we have been prepared for the human crossings. The delays are from the other (Indian) side and we fail to comprehend the reasons for it,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

According to officials, hundreds of people had sought permission to cross the heavily militarized dividing line which has separated tens of thousands of Kashmiri families for decades.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said that two days ago 83 people from occupied Kashmir had been given clearance to travel to AJK while Pakistan had also handed over some 70 names to India for similar clearance.

However, Thursday was the crossing day of the stranded residents of held Kashmir. Seventeen of them had also showed up here on Nov 8 on the opening of the Chakothi-Uri crossing point to return to their homes but they had to go back to Muzaffarabad as the Indian authorities had shown unwillingness to accept them.