Border residents in India stockpile on food items amid Indo-Pak tensions
Indian citizens rush to stockpile food and essentials as officials urge calm and assure there’s no shortage of supplies.
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Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, panic gripped residents living in border regions, prompting large-scale evacuations and a rush to stockpile essentials ranging from food and medicine to fuel and cooking gas, according to a Reuters report.
In Jammu and Kashmir's Uri district, part of Indian-administered Kashmir, several homes were damaged overnight, forcing families to flee to safer zones.
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Panic was visible at local markets. Long queues formed outside grocery stores and pharmacies as people hurried to stock up on essential supplies—grains, cooking oil, gas cylinders, and medicines.
In both nations, residents near the border zones have begun sending urgent supply requests to relatives living further inland, fearing worsening conditions and supply chain disruptions, the report added.
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The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution issued a public statement urging calm, assuring citizens of ample food stockpiles. "We currently have stocks many times higher than the normal requirement—whether it is rice, wheat, or pulses... There is absolutely no shortage," a minister stated in the report.
But reassurance wasn't enough for many. "We do not know if the markets will open tomorrow or not. I have children and grandchildren at home, so I have to stock up," said an Amritsar resident in the report.
