No sleep for two days: Rajasthan border residents are anxious but confident in the army

A wave of drone attacks launched by Pakistan last night made residents of Rajasthan’s border area anxious, but their belief in Indian armed forces remained strong as these forces neutralized drones and air, but reportedly did not hurt any. Jaisalmer resident Jalam Singh told PTI: “The way our troops destroy the air in the middle of the drone has strengthened our confidence that the Pakistani attack will not hurt us.” Western Rajasthan experienced a complete power outage, with multiple sirens, especially in Barmer, to remind residents.
The first drone attack occurred in Pokhran, Jaisalmer, on Friday night. Then similar attempts were made from other areas of Jaisalmer and Barmer.
However, the Indian air defense system successfully neutralized the air drone without any harm, which gave the local population a sense of confidence and reassurance.

“We haven’t had two nights of sleep yet,” Jalam Singh said. Friday’s bid marked the night of Jaisalmer’s second consecutive drone swarm attack, all successfully intercepted and destroyed by Indian forces.

His family, as well as many others in the area, followed the blackout guidelines strictly, ensuring that no light was visible to any family. “It is our responsibility to follow these guidelines; it is for our safety,” said Jalam Singh’s wife Babita. Astrologer and another local resident, Umesh Acharya, noted that this situation is compared with restrictions during the 19th pandemic, and people are confined to their homes.

“We returned home from 5-6pm and stayed inside. Our troops were on guard and were able to teach Pakistan a lesson,” he said.

Retired forest ranger Jaithmal Singh observed that unlike fears during the 1971 war, there was no widespread panic today due to the rapid movement of the troops.

“The rapid and effective action of air defense systems on these attacks is a key reason why we feel confident now. The regional government has done a great job of reminding people in advance,” he said.

He recalled the scarcity of information during the 1971 war, mainly conveyed through broadcast.

“There were rampant rumors and widespread fears at that time,” Jaithmal Singh said.

“The situation was even more uncertain and people were very anxious. Today, our troops have a high ability to access real-time information through TV and mobile phones. We have been watching TV for two days and have the latest information on our mobile phones.”

Meanwhile, suspicious objects were found in various places in Barmer and Jaisalmer on Saturday morning after last night’s drone activity.

“A suspicious object was found in Baytoo and Balotra on Saturday morning. Another object was found in the village of Badoda in Jaisalmer,” police said.

The drone launched from Pakistan was intercepted and destroyed by India’s air defense system.

After the first attack at around 9 p.m. on Friday in Jaisalmer, the power outage in Jodhpur, which was originally planned to begin at midnight, was proposed and immediately executed throughout the city.

The alert extended to Barmer, Sriganganagar, Phalodi and Jodhpur, where similar power outages were implemented.

The night before, Pakistan also launched a group of drone attacks on Jaisalmer.

On the evening of May 7-8, strikes were conducted at the air bases in Phalodi, Nal and Uttarlai, all of which were successfully neutralized before reaching their targets.