![\"Fear](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-132795493,imgsize-1133585,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/terrorists-shot-dead-a-24-year-old-labourer-from-chhattisgarh-and-critically-wounded-another-from-the-same-state-at-a-brick-kiln-in-south-kashmirs-kulgam-on-friday-evening.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nKULGAM: Panic. Shuttered doors. Phones ringing with anxious calls from home. Brick kilns across south Kashmir ground to a halt Saturday as migrant labourers stayed indoors, rattled by the killing of two co-workers barely 2km away and wondering if they should leave \u2014 or stay and earn.Around 11am, Sunil Kumar, 34, and fellow labourer Renku Yadav stepped out of brick kiln No 515 in Hablishi village of Kulgam district to buy atta and pulses after running out of food. They had barely walked a short distance when the kiln owner chased after them, urging them to return.Fear had settled over the village after terrorists fatally shot two migrant labourers Friday evening at a brick kiln in neighbouring Kilam \u2014 killing Deepak Ratrey, 24, and Bhupendra Bhaina, 28, from Chhattisgarh.The attack raised concerns about the resurgence of targeted killings of non-native people in Kashmir. In 2022, a series of targeted attacks resulted in the deaths of at least 10 labourers.Terrorists tend to target \u201csoft targets\u201d such as migrant workers, who arrive in Kashmir every year between March and Nov \u2014 the seasonal workforce engaged in labour-intensive tasks on farms, construction sites and brick kilns.Kumar lives beside the kiln in a shelter built by stacking bricks without cement. The temporary rooms become home during the brick-making season.He has worked in J&K since 2007 and has spent nearly a decade at the same kiln, moulding clay bricks before they are fired. \u201cLife has been peaceful in recent years. We work during the day, cook in the evening, listen to songs and speak to our families,\u201d Kumar said.\u201cWe have seen such attacks in Kashmir, but what can a labourer do? We have to earn a living,\u201d said Kumar, who came from Lucknow on July 16 with 12 more men for a monthly wage of Rs 18,000.Brick kiln owners fear a repeat of earlier years when attacks on migrant workers triggered an exodus, crippling businesses dependent on seasonal labour. \u201cWe came here for three months. We don\u2019t think the situation is so bad that we should leave immediately,\u201d Kumar assured.<\/p>\n Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n