Sirens were sounded and blackouts imposed Friday night on Rajasthan’s border districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, where drone sightings and loud blasts were reported. Blackouts were also in place in Ganganagar, Phalodi and Jodhpur districts in the state.
The Barmer district administration said in a social media post that a red alert was issued. “There is a red alert. A complete blackout has been done. Everyone should stay where they are. No one should move. The public should not panic in any way. This is a complete blackout,” the administration said.
According to defence officials, Barmer and Jaisalmer were among the locations where drones were sighted. Barmer resident Bheraram told , “At around 9 pm, we heard noises in the sky. Then the siren was heard in the whole city of Barmer and people who were on their terraces went indoors.”
Another Barmer resident, Pravesh Bhati, said he also heard loud sounds and saw bright lights in the sky. “This caused fear amongst the residents of Barmer district, especially in the villages situated near the Pakistan border,” he said.
Following the drone sightings, several vehicles going to Barmer were stopped around 15 km ahead of the city at more than a dozen checkpoints, each manned by five police personnel. At around 11 pm, the Ganganagar district administration said they had switched to a green alert, allowing citizens to use electricity “cautiously”, as per their requirement.
