Mock drills to be held at 20 locations in Punjab tomorrow. Here’s where
According to the MHA, the drills will include activation of air raid warning sirens, training of civilians and students in civil defence procedures, and implementation of crash blackout measures, among other things.
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Ferozepur Cantonment carries out a 30-minute blackout rehearsal amid mounting tensions between India and Pakistan, in Ferozepur on Sunday. (ANI Photo)
Civil defence mock drills will be held at 20 locations in Punjab and in Chandigarh on Wednesday, as per instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday. While the Ferozepur district administration has confirmed that it will hold a citywide blackout drill on May 7, other districts are still finalising plans.
Amid heightened tensions along the Indo-Pak border over India’s possible military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, the Centre on Monday had directed northern and western states and Union Territories to test and strengthen their civil defence mechanisms on Wednesday.
In Punjab, the mock drills will be held at the civil defence towns of Amritsar, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Batala, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Adampur, Ludhiana, Halwara, Patiala, Pathankot, Barnala, Mohali, Faridkot, Kotkapura, Rupnagar, Bhakra Nangal, Sangrur and Abohar.
Public announcements will be made before the drills, sources said.
“As we did a blackout rehearsal in the Ferozepur cantonment for half an hour on Sunday, we will be doing a similar exercise in the entire city on May 7. However, for that, we need to first check the working of all the civil and defence siren systems. So on Tuesday, from 7 pm to 7.15 pm, we will be testing the siren systems. So, people should not panic,” Deepshika Sharma, deputy commissioner, Ferozepur, said. “The blackout will be integrated across both the city and the cantonment area,” she added.
During the blackout rehearsals, power will be switched off for a stipulated time, and the use of generators or even lighting matches will be prohibited. During Sunday’s drill in Ferozepur, however, many vehicles were seen driving with headlights on, and CCTV and solar lights remained switched on, locals said. Sharma has appealed to the public for better cooperation on Wednesday.
According to MHA’s guidelines, the drills will include activation of air raid warning sirens, training of civilians, students and others in civil defence procedures to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack, implementation of crash blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital plants and installations, updating and rehearsing of evacuation plans, etc.
These measures are part of a nationwide effort to test and improve civil defence readiness across officially notified districts.
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