Many Indians, especially those living in areas closer to the Pakistan border, have started hoarding groceries, medicines, petrol and cancelling travel plans, amid a rapid escalation in military conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations.
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Citizens across towns in Punjab in India, such as Pathankot, Amritsar and Chandigarh, are seeing such panic buying. Gagandeep Madan, a 42-year-old who owns a kirana shop – a family-run store – about 14km (9 miles) from the Attari-Wagah border near Amritsar in Punjab, said almost all shops in the area, including his, had run out of food essentials on Wednesday.
“Customers came and bought about one month’s worth of wheat, rice, sugar and pulses,” Madan said. “Panic set in among everyone here. Everyone wanted to be prepared.”
India said it “neutralised” Pakistani drone and missile attacks targeting several military sites on Thursday night, marking a second day of hostilities between the neighbours. India began the military strikes on Wednesday on what it called terrorist targets in Pakistan in retaliation for an April 22 attack that killed 26 civilians in the India-controlled part of Kashmir region.
With both nations saying they have shot down drones and missiles from the other in the past few days, local media reports say tourist hotspots are seeing dwindling footfalls. India has shut down more than two dozen airports in northern and western parts of the country.
Panic Buying
Some residents in Amritsar, which saw a blackout last night, stored water in large containers, fearing power outages would mean they can’t use their electric pumps to draw groundwater.