Chandigarh bans hoarding of essential commodities amid India-Pakistan conflict; traders asked to declare current stock

India-Pakistan conflict: Chandigarh has banned the hoarding of essential commodities —including rice, wheat, sugar, and fuel—under the Essential Commodities Act after attempted attacks from Pakistan on Thursday, May 8, and further siren warnings in the morning.

All traders have been directed to declare their existing stock to the Department of Food and Supplies within three days.

The India-Pakistan conflict saw a major escalation on Thursday late evening after Pakistan fired missiles and drones at military sites in Jammu and other states.

Why has Chandigarh imposed the ban?

A notice from the Chandigarh District Magistrate states: “It has come to notice that certain individuals, traders and entities are engaged in the hoarding and unauthorisd stockpiling of essential food items and fuel including petrol, diesel and other daily necessities in the Union Territory of Chandigarh."

As a result, Chandigarh has imposed the ban on hoarding “to safeguard public interest and maintain smooth availability of essential goods," in the wake of the tense situations, states the notice.

Residents of Chandigarh have further been asked to report instances of hoarding, black marketing and price manipulation.

India-Pakistan conflict

Earlier today, the Indian Army reported that it successfully repelled multiple attacks by Pakistan—carried out using drones and other munitions—along the entire western border during the night between May 8 and May 9.

At least eight missiles were fired from Pakistan towards Kashmir, an Indian defence personnel said, adding that they were all “intercepted and blocked by Air Defence Units.” The attacks were directed at the towns of Satwari, Samba, Ranbir Singh Pura and Arnia.

On Thursday, the Indian military announced that it had successfully foiled Pakistani attempts to strike multiple military targets across 15 cities in northern and western India using drones and missiles. In response, India targeted Pakistan’s air defence systems at several locations, including a key site in Lahore, which was reportedly destroyed in the counter-attack.

The escalation followed India’s precision strikes a day earlier—codenamed Operation Sindoor—on nine terror 
hotbeds located across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation was carried out in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead. 

At an all-party meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that the mission resulted in the elimination of at least 100 terrorists.