Total blackout in parts of Gujarat's border districts of Kutch and Banaskantha

A total blackout was enforced in several parts of the border districts of Kutch and Banaskantha in Gujarat on Thursday amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan, officials said. Both Kutch and Banaskantha districts share a border with Pakistan.

Officials confirmed that several parts of Kutch, including Bhuj, Nalia, Nakhatrana and Gandhidham towns, have been put under total blackout as a precautionary measure to deter any offensive gesture by Pakistan. Similarly, blackouts have been declared in several villages in bordring Suigam taluka of Banaskantha district, they said.

Earlier during the day, wreckage of a 'drone-like' object was found at a remote place near Khavda village of Gujarat's Kutch district, close to India's border with Pakistan. However, there was no clarity about the origin of the drone and whether it was shot down or got damaged and fell down after hitting the power line during early hours of Thursday.


The place where the wreckage was found is nearly 20 km away from the Indo-Pak border. Tensions escalated after Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke, in retaliation for the terror attack in Pahalgam.