Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

Evacuation starts along Indo-Pak border in J&K

- Ravi Krishnan Khajuria

JAMMU: Migration started from the forward villages along the Indo-Pak Internatio­nal Border and Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday in the wake of surgical strike, carried out by the Indian Army, across the LoC.

Chief secretary BR Sharma issued orders to all five deputy commission­ers of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch to ask the villagers to move to safer areas in view of the rising hostilitie­s between India and Pakistan, said a home department official.

Jammu deputy commission­er Simrandeep Singh said the advisory has been issued to the villagers to move to safer areas in the houses of their relatives and friends to escape the shelling.

All people living within 7 to 8 km of India-Pak border have been asked to move to safer areas and schools in 10 km area to be ordered to close down till further notice, he said. “We are also in the process of setting up camps in safer areas for people to take refuge. We are setting up 10 to 12 camps in Jammu district. We have told the people that things could be intense this time and therefore, they should take precaution­s at the earliest,” he said.

Consequent­ly, similar exercises have been initiated in Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts as fear has gripped villagers in forward areas along the 198km-long Internatio­nal Border and LoC in Jammu region.

 ?? NITIN KANOTRA/HT ?? A family moving to a safer place in the RS Pura sector in Jammu on Thursday.
NITIN KANOTRA/HT A family moving to a safer place in the RS Pura sector in Jammu on Thursday.

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