LG Sinha orders evacuation of civilians from vulnerable areas

As the heavy shelling continues along the Line of Control in north Kashmir and Poonch, J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday directed deputy commissioners of affected areas to shift villagers from vulnerable areas to safer locations. Chief minister Omar Abdullah also chaired an emergency meeting and released ₹5 crore each for border districts and ₹2 crore each for all other districts.

As the shelling that started around midnight continues in multiple areas, people have taken shelter in underground bunkers, with many having already moved from their native places to comparatively safer locations in north Kashmir.

“... I’m closely monitoring the situation & govt is fully prepared to deal with any eventuality. I’ve also directed the DCs for shifting of villagers from vulnerable areas to safer locations and ensuring boarding, lodging, food, medicare and transportation. We will ensure safety of every citizen...” Sinha said in a post on micro-blogging platform X.

Omar chaired the emergency meeting with deputy commissioners of all border districts via video conferencing to assess the situation and preparedness in terms of any emergencies.

Besides senior officers, the meeting was attended by DCs of Jammu, Poonch, Rajouri, Kathua, Samba, Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts.

During the meeting, the CM directed to release contingency funds of ₹5 crore to each border district and ₹2 crore each to other districts so that DCs are equipped to deal with any exigencies.

A government spokesperson said that CM directed that frontier districts be accorded special priority in the disbursement of funds.

The CM expressed grief on loss of lives and injuries and asked DCs to provide all assistance to the affected families.