Jittery Jaisalmer residents choose silence over spreading disinformation during tense times

Jaipur: There is an eerie kind of silence in Jaisalmer and the surrounding areas, after last night's drone attack by Pakistan in the region. Not just metaphorically, but literally too.

Many people from the area are not willing to speak, saying they are not sure of whom they are speaking to, especially on the phone and would rather not speak. Most say they are doing it in the interest of the country and that India should take strong steps to counter any attack after the heinous Pahalgam attack.

Bhagwan Parihar, a representative in the panchayat samiti, spoke to DH but was not willing to describe yesterday’s events, saying he is not sure of who is on the other side of the call. But he said, “I am keeping silent in the interest of the nation. We haven’t seen anything like this for years, and India must take the strongest action against these Pakistani perpetrators after what they did in Pahalgam.”

The region is seeing this kind of advanced drone attack after 54 years. Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur and surrounding areas had last seen a Pakistani attack in the wars of 1965 and 1971. This time, the targeted attacks were aimed at Naal in Bikaner, Phalodi in Jodhpur and Utaralai in Barmer, say sources.

While most local journalists whom this correspondent tried to contact were tight-lipped, saying they do not want to speak about yesterday's incident as it might be harmful for the nation as a whole, they were also sceptical about whom they were speaking to because they had no way to verify the credibility of the person. Also, with disinformation floating around on social media and an information warfare at the highest level, most say they would rather keep quiet.

There were, however, only two who were willing to speak to DH.

Dileep Singh Sodha, who is a volunteer with Seemant Lok Sanghathan (SLS) in Jaisalmer, told DH that he was returning to his house around 9 pm when suddenly the sky was lit up with drones.

“At least 70 to 80 drones had lit up the sky. We haven’t seen anything like this before, and could understand it was an attack from Pakistan. There were already rumours of an imminent Pakistani attack doing the rounds for the past few days. Schools had been closed down, and the local administration had been warning of a possible attack from Pakistan. There was another theory floating that Pakistan would attack the famous Jaisalmer Fort, more renowned as Shonar Kella. There was already an announcement of a blackout from 9 pm to 4 am. We were mentally prepared and alert, but the suddenness of the attack and the large number of drones lighting up the sky did frighten us. When we could understand that the Indian air defence system was neutralising them and their objective of damaging our land was immediately rebuffed, we felt a bit at ease. But naturally, we are terror-stricken. Our internet was down, and it was restored in the morning.”

Papsa Sodha Masuria, who is also a Jaisalmer resident, 35, and works as a contractor, told DH there were already warnings of a possible attack, and we were told about the siren alarm and that lights had to be put off.

“Around 9 pm, at least 70-80 drones lit up the night sky, and they were coming one after another. And we knew instantly this was the attack, which the administration was warning of. We knew that the actual targets were the Army and Air Force bases in the region. There were inputs of such attacks beforehand, otherwise, why would schools be closed down, and normal lives be disrupted. But we could gauge that Indian forces tackled the drones, and we were in safe hands.”

“Most people from our colony gathered on the roads. We left our houses and stayed on the road together. This way, we remained alert and felt safe together. We had lathis in hand, although we know now the warfare tactics have changed; now it is much more advanced, and lathis would not be of any use. We are still petrified and would rather live in peace than under such a horrible, terrifying atmosphere,” he added.

Musuria says,  “We could sense that the Indian defence system was much stronger than the Pakistan, as the drones were being neutralised and could not inflict any damage. Neither were there any casualties, at least we did not hear of anyone being killed in the attacks. We felt confident of our forces, but naturally fear persists.“

Jaisalmer is at least 464 km from the Pakistan border. There are villages on the border which are being evacuated, say sources.

A live bomb is said to have been found in Jogiyo ki Basti in Jaisalmer’s Kishanghat area. Police and Army jawans are trying to defuse it. There have been blackouts in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Pali.

Fireworks have been banned in Bikaner and Sriganganager, while flying of drones in Kota has been banned for the moment. Some trains to Barmer and Jaisalmer have been partially cancelled. Airports at Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kishangarh and Jaisalmer have been closed.