Sunday, November 6 2005 18:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Teetrinote (LoC): Winding through Hajipeer hills in Poonch district, a second peace road between J&K and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir will open tomorrow (Nov 7, 2005) exactly seven months after the historic Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route became operational, but on a sombre note.

Seven months down the line, the picturesque hills bear the deep scars of the Oct 8 giant temblor and the 'aman marg' (peace road) is being opened for passage of quake relief to the Chakan-da-Bagh crossing point on the Line of Control.

"Exactly seven months after the Srinagar-Uri-Muzaffarabad road opened on Apr 7, the second 'aman marg' will start plying between Poonch and Rawalakote towns through Shohanar-Kanchaman Indo-Pak posts on the LoC tomorrow," Brigadier-General Staff of 16 Corps headquarters A K Bakshi said.

After some initial hiccups, officials of the two countries had now worked out the modalities for opening of the relief points across the LoC, he told sources.

Like the road that goes via the Aman bridge on Kaman Post and broke the post-Partition barrier, this border point "will help the meeting of divided families", he said.

And keeping their fingers crossed, Army officials here are banking on lucky number 7.

"The figure has a match for everything in the reopening of these Indo-Pak trans-border roads except for days. While the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route started on a Thursday, the Poonch-Rawalakote road through Chakan-da-Bagh will open on a Monday," they said.