: A high alert was sounded on Thursday at the 1,070-km-long international border in western Rajasthan in the wake of surgical strikes carried out by India across the Line of Control.
The State government was monitoring the situation in the four border districts in order to ensure there was no panic.
Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said after a high-level meeting here that the villages near the border would not be evacuated as of now, and the police and Home Department would be in constant touch with the Border Security Force (BSF).
According to defence sources, troops are in a state of “high alertness and preparedness” to meet any eventuality. Collectors and Inspectors General of Police were alerted to maintain round-the-clock vigil in the four border districts of Sriganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Barmer.
High-level measuresWestern Rajasthan was the battleground during the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971. Official sources said senior BSF officers had joined the patrolling along the fencing at the border, even as civilian movements near the border were being restricted. Prohibitory orders were imposed near the international border in Barmer district.
The high-level meeting in Jaipur was attended by the Home Minister, Chief Secretary, Director-General of Police, Principal Home Secretary and an Army Sub-Area Commander.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to visit Jaisalmer on October 7 to review the security situation. According to official sources, the Home Ministers of all the border States will join him in the desert district.
Leaders across the political spectrum in the State praised the surgical strikes.
