Every time Farhan Lone decided to scale the Kandi hill near the Line of Control, his family and friends wouldn’t let him go. The Army, too, would say no, given the risks involved. But last summer, not only he and his friends were standing on the hilltop but Lone was capturing enviable videos for his blogs. “No way could I have done the Kandi hill a year ago. There was risk and fear of shelling, firing and sniping from the other side,” said the 20-year-old student from Bijhama, a village in Uri, which has seen cross-border skirmishes between Indian and Pakistan soldiers in the past.But all that changed last February when the facing armies decided to hold ceasefire along the LoC and International Border, giving peace a chance and hope to the border residents. The firing between the two armies have often resulted in displacement of border villagers and freezing of their normal lives. In 2020, the Indian Army reported more than 5,000 incidents of cross-border firings and killings of scores of civilians. Along with the ceasefire breaches by Pakistan, the Indian Army also foiled many intrusion attempts by militants from across the border. But a no firing pact between the Director Generals of India and Pakistan on February 25 last year ensured life thrived on the frontline. “Thank God! That chapter is over. I have lived large in the last one year,” sighed Lone.An avid trekker and a landscape vlogger, Lone was able to explore the hitherto inaccessible deep forests of Uri. From the hills of Mayan, Namla, Gharkote, Salamabad to Limber wildlife sanctuary — a home to largest mountain goat Markhor – Lone saw and captured it all last summer. The no-go areas, otherwise, the Army and civilian authorities had no hesitation to give permission to Lone and his friends to trek in Uri, which was unthinkable before the truce deal.“I was surprised how I got to venture out in hills that were out of bounds for decades. Until a year ago, this was impossible,” he said.In fact, weeks before the ceasefire agreement, civilians were killed in a cross-border shelling in Uri, Rajouri, Poonch and Kupwara. In Uri’s Hajipir sector, not far away from Bijhama, a woman was killed when a shrapnel exploded after piercing through the roof of her house.The skirmishes have also taken a toll on the education of children whose parents would make them stay at home. “When the Covid-19 situation had improved in last March, more students attended the classes,” said Irshad Ahmad, a resident of Uri. “This wasn’t the case before. I am sure this year there would be more enrollments,” he added. Farmers have benefitted the most from the ceasefire pact as they now feel confident cultivating in the areas, which were earlier deemed risky. “We appreciate this ceasefire. We are now living in peace. Wars only bring destruction. Look at the war in Ukraine, how it is causing destruction. We hope peace in our region lasts forever,” said Shabir Naik, a sarpanch in Uri.Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Assembly Elections Live Updates here.