The storm before any possibility of lull on Thursday saw hectic preparations for war in Punjab. Switching into emergency mode, the Punjab Government machinery went into full motion. The evacuation of border villages were ordered, schools closed, doctors’ leaves were cancelled. Notwithstanding ill-health, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal held back-to-back meetings with the senior officials of both the administrative and police to review the situation, besides calling an emergency Cabinet meeting in the evening. He even spoke to all the MlAs of the border villages for their support in the evacuation process. “In all, we are evacuating 1,000 villages along the border falling in total of six districts in the State,” said Badal. The evacuation orders came after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh talked to Badal over phone and requested him to start the evacuation of people in villages within 10 km of the border.
Badal directed the State Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal and the police chief Suresh Arora to ask all the Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police to oversee the evacuation processes in the districts of Ferozepur, Fazilka, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot.
