India-Pak conflict: Rajasthan CM reviews state's preparedness, calls all-party meet on Saturday

Jaipur, May 9 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma reviewed the border state's administrative system and disaster response preparedness in a meeting with his council of ministers on Friday amid the ongoing India-Pakistan military conflict.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel an all-party meeting has been convened for Saturday to discuss the security situation of the state that shares a 1,070 km border with Pakistan.

Schools were closed, most people stayed indoors and the occasional siren rang out as people in many border districts woke up to a tense Friday morning, calm but anxious about what the day would bring.

The night that was had been nerve-wracking with blackouts, loud blasts piercing through the quiet and the fear that their homes would be the frontier of war between India and its fractious neighbour Pakistan. It passed off without further incident, much to the relief of those living in the border areas of Rajasthan and Punjab.

After the review meeting at the chief minister's residence, his deputy Prem Chand Bairwa told reporters that the council of ministers has approved providing Rs 5 crore to each of four border districts and Rs 2.5 crore each to three districts from the CM Relief Fund for emergency situations.

The police and administration have been told to remain on alert in the border districts round the clock, Patel said while adding that deployment of additional fire tenders, and ambulances, and keeping blood banks stacked up for any exigencies were being ensured.

He appealed to the people to follow the guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry and guard against social media rumours.

Meanwhile, the district collectors of Jaisalmer and Barmer have directed drone operators to deposit their equipment to nearest police stations. The sale and bursting of crackers have been banned in these two districts.

Fairs, rallies and public functions have been banned in Jaisalmer markets have been tild to shutter down by 5 pm with a blackout enforced since evening in the western districts sharing border with Pakistan.

The state government has transferred nine sub-divisional officers. Of them, five were transferred to vacant SDO posts in the border districts of Ganganagar, Jaialmer, Bikaner and Barmer while two SDOs in Jaisalmer and Bikaner were changed. Two SDO in Nagaur and Sikar districts were also changed.

The North Western Railway on Friday cancelled four trains and rescheduled five in Rajasthan as precutionary measure. Trains to and from Munabao, a village close to the International Border are among those that stand cancelled. Its CPRO Shashi Kiran advised passengers to remain updated about train running status from the railway website or helpline.

Multiple places in the state, including Jaipur and Ajmer, saw Congress rallies commending the valour of the armed forces. PTI AG NSD NSD