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Panic grips Punjab border villages

GURDASPUR/FEROZEPUR:The Gurdaspur district administration has got people evacuated from villages located up to 10 km from the international border.

Panic grips Punjab border villages

People carry trunks as they leave Mahawa village, about 40 km from Amritsar. afp



Ravi Dhaliwal & 

Anirudh Gupta

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur/Ferozepur, Sept 29

The Gurdaspur district administration has got people evacuated from villages located up to 10 km from the international border.

Although BSF and police officers maintained there was nothing to worry about, there was palpable tension in the air as villagers were asked to move to safer places by the administration.

All private and government educational institutions have been closed till further orders. Those living near the border have been asked to switch off lights in the night. The power authorities were making arrangements to disconnect power supply to border villages at night.

Repeated announcements were being made from gurdwara loudspeakers asking people to leave their houses and “spend the night with their relatives and friends in other areas. Police vehicles were also being ustilised to make the announcement.

A disaster management plan chalked out to deal with flood situations came in handy for the authorities today. Schools, colleges, panchayat ghars, community halls and religious places were got vacated in villages already identified under the plan so that people could be provided shelter there.

Around 100 villages in Dorangla, Dera Baba Nanak and Behrampur blocks (Gurdaspur), Narot Jaimal Singh and Bamial blocks (Pathankot) were got vacated within hours of the police receiving verbal instructions from the state government.

Initially, residents were wary of moving to new places, but administration officials managed to convince them that “it was in their interest to shift to safer places”.

Many villagers said since neither the Army nor the BSF had asked them to vacate their villages, they would not leave their homes.

BSF DIG (Gurdaspur) A Sreenivasan and some Army officers camped at the Dera Baba Nanak border throughout the day.

Batala SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon and Gurdaspur SSP Jasdeep Singh took command of the evacuation operations in Gurdaspur district, while Pathankot SSP Rakesh Kaushal rushed to the Narot Jaimal Singh border. Pathankot Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar was supervising operations in Bamial and Narot Jaimal Singh. 

The authorities of Gurdaspur, Batala and Pathankot civil hospitals have been asked to remain prepared for any eventuality. The security around these places was being beefed up and health officials told to stay put at PHCs and CHCs round-the-clock. Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said those residing in villages within 10 km of the international border had been asked to move to safer places. He issued orders for the cancellation leave of all civil staff. Any kind of strike or union activity has also been banned.

The health authorities have been asked to maintain adequate stock of medicines. The Food and Supplies Department has been told to arrange at least 75,000 packets of food and emergency supplies. Owners of marriage palaces, dharamshalas and community centres have been asked to keep their premises vacant to set up more relief camps as and when required.

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