City residents still vividly remember the India-Pakistan tensions when sighting of drones, sound of explosions and siren kept them on the edge during Operation Sindoor last year.
Residents of the Khasa area — located 16 km from the International Border — saw several drones being neutralised mid-air by the Indian air defence system.
As per Rajwinder Kaur, a Khasa resident, they saw red streaks in the sky that burst in the air with loud blasts. Explosions were heard in different parts of the district and the residents remained concerned about the safety of their near and dear ones.
Rajwinder Kaur said initially her entire family and people in the neighborhood were anxious over the developments, but gradually they became confident as Indian Armed Forces thwarted Pakistan’s nefarious designs. She added that they were equally surprised at Pakistan’s capability of sending a large number of hi-tech drones. It also became clear that how some people in Pakistan were using the same technology to smuggle in contraband.
Gurinder Singh said the natives of the border district had a tense night on May 9 as a complete blackout was clamped in response to escalating tensions. The renewed attempts by Pakistan came after the Indian Armed Forces carried out precision strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The government ordered the closure of all educational institutions for three days from May 10.
Surinder Duggal, a dealer of allopathic medicines, said those days brought forth a new kind of war altogether. “During my childhood days I had seen the wars of 1965 and 1971 between India and Pakistan. Those wars were fought on the front, while this time drones were seen flying above houses. The impact of the limited war was immense as people from outside avoided visiting Amritsar and locals did not buy anything non-essential. Yet panicked locals stocked ration and other essential items,” he added.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also played a crucial role by extending help to the drone attack victims. On May 16, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to a family of Ferozepur’s Khai Pheme Ki village. On May 11, around 9 pm, when the family was having dinner in their open verandah, a Pakistani drone crashed down and the debris caused a fire in a parked car. Sukhwinder Kaur died after sustaining 100 per cent burns, while her husband Lakhwinder Singh suffered 70 per cent burns. Their son Jaswant Singh also suffered injuries.
