After three scary nights, residents welcome ceasefire

After enduring three nights of fear and unrest, residents of Jalandhar welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire this evening. Following the announcement, the district administration swiftly lifted all restrictions that had been imposed due to the escalating attacks from Pakistan.

Jalandhar had been on high alert since May 7, just hours after India launched nine surgical strikes under Operation Sindoor. For the past two days, residents had been rattled by the sound of drones and missiles disintegrating and falling from the sky. The sudden noise and sight of unmanned aerial vehicles streaking through the sky had disrupted the peace, leaving the population anxious and distressed.

As tensions mounted, the daily lives of residents, including traders, students, workers, police officers, bureaucrats and most significantly, defense personnel and their families, were severely affected. But with the ceasefire in place, many now hope for a return to normalcy in the coming days. The markets in Jalandhar saw an immediate revival within two hours of the announcement. Examinations for students, which had been indefinitely postponed, are now expected to be rescheduled by Guru Nanak Dev University, IK Gujral Punjab Technical University, and other private institutions.

Students from Sainik School, Kapurthala, were particularly relieved this morning after the school had also faced attacks the previous evening. Four staff members escorted around 100 Bihar students to Delhi railway station earlier today, where their parents had been asked to pick them up. Authorities are now making arrangements to bring the students back to their campuses following the ceasefire announcement.

Similarly, students from Lovely Professional University and Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, who had already left for home, will need to make plans to return soon as classes are expected to resume within a week.

The announcement was met with widespread relief from political figures, including Congress leader Amritpal Bhonsle. Jalandhar-based writer and activist Gurmehar Kaur also expressed her sentiments on X, writing, “While we exhale in collective relief at this ceasefire, as we should, let us not forget the real cost of war. What was won and what was lost. There are families who will never see their loved ones again, wives who lost husbands, children who lost parents, people who lost their homes, places of worship, everything that anchored them.”

Jalandhar