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Schools to reopen in Punjab's border districts from May 14 after closure
Press Trust of India Chandigarh
Schools in five Punjab districts bordering Pakistan will reopen on Wednesday, officials said.
Punjab shares a 553-kilometre border with Pakistan, spanning the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, Fazilka, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur.
While schools in Gurdaspur reopened on Tuesday, authorities in the other five border districts said academic institutions would reopen on Wednesday.
The state government on May 8 ordered the closure of academic institutions for three days as a military standoff between India and Pakistan soared. While schools in most districts reopened on Monday, they remained shut in the six border districts and Sangrur.
The district authorities in Pathankot, Tarn Taran and Amritsar on Tuesday said all schools would reopen on Wednesday.
"Schools will open tomorrow (Wednesday) from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm," the Amritsar district administration said.
The district authorities in Amritsar and Pathankot also urged citizens to observe a voluntary blackout on Tuesday.
"We will switch off streetlights at 8 pm. Please follow a voluntary blackout by switching off all your external lights at this time," Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said in a message.
"Once indoor, please use minimal light or ensure light does not escape outside. However, in case there is a red alert, then please switch off these internal lights as well and stay away from windows," she said in the message.
"We do not want to centrally shut power. However, in case there is a red alert and we find there is no compliance, we will be forced to centrally shut power," she added.
Earlier in the day, the Amritsar administration said people could resume their normal daily activities.
On Monday, blackout measures were enforced in Amritsar and Hoshiarpur's Dasuya and Mukerian areas as a precautionary measure.
An Amritsar-bound IndiGo flight was forced to return to Delhi due to the blackout being in force and the airport being shut.
Drone activity had been observed in Jalandhar, following which electricity supply was shut in certain areas.
Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal had said armed forces neutralised a suspected "surveillance drone" near Mand village.
A level of normality returned to the border areas of Punjab on Monday, with markets teeming with people even though schools in some districts remained shut as a precautionary measure.
India and Pakistan reached an agreement on May 10 to halt military actions after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
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