Punjab to hold 2nd civil defence mock drill on May 31

As part of this, complete blackout measures would be implemented in adjoining civilian vulnerable areas and vulnerable points, excluding emergency and critical services, and air raid sirens would be sounded, a government spokesperson said.

Punjab is all set to hold the second civil defence exercise “Operation Shield” on May 31 at 6pm.

Initially, the civil defence drill across the border states of Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, as well as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was scheduled for Thursday evening, but it was later postponed (HT File)

As part of this, complete blackout measures would be implemented in adjoining civilian vulnerable areas and vulnerable points, excluding emergency and critical services, and air raid sirens would be sounded, a government spokesperson said.

He added that in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 19 of the Civil Defence Rules, 1968, the Union ministry of home affairs, Government of India, has decided to hold the second civil defence exercise in all districts of states/UTs, adjoining the western border of the country. These drills follow the directive issued by the home ministry in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. The first civil defence exercise was held on May 7.

Initially, the civil defence drill across the border states of Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, as well as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was scheduled for Thursday evening, but it was later postponed. The Punjab home department had on Wednesday informed that it was unable to hold the drill on Thursday as its volunteers were currently being trained by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and postponed the drill to June 3.