Hindustan Times (Jalandhar)

‘Pak’ gas balloon lands in Gurdaspur, creates flutter

- Kamaljit Singh Kamal letterschd@hindustant­imes.com

Gurdaspur: A Pakistani gas balloon landed at Kalanaur, 25 km from here, on Wednesday, creating a flutter among local residents.

The green balloon, which had the words ‘Jashn-e-Azadi’ (Independen­ce celebratio­ns) written on it in Persian script, landed near the taxi stand outside the Kalanaur bus stand around noon. Pakistan celebrates its Independen­ce Day on August 14, a day before India commemorat­es the end of the British rule in the country. A taxi driver caught hold of the balloon, which evoked the curiosity of all those present in the area.

The locals later handed over the balloon to the Kalanaur police. Talking to HT, Gurdaspur senior superinten­dent of police (SSP) Bhupinderj­eet Singh Virk confirmed the incident and said the balloon was filled with hydrogen and it came down as the gas leaked out.

“The balloon entered the Indian territory just because it was blown by the wind in this direction. There is nothing to be panicky about. It caused no breach of security,” he said.

 ??  ?? A balloon had ‘JashneAzad­i’ (independen­ce celebratio­ns) written on it in Persian script.
A balloon had ‘JashneAzad­i’ (independen­ce celebratio­ns) written on it in Persian script.

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