All set for mock drills at 20 places in Punjab

Preparations have been made for mock drills at 20 places in Punjab on Wednesday, officials said here. The Union home ministry had on Monday asked all states to conduct mock drills on Wednesday in view of “new and complex threats” that have emerged amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said mock drills would be carried out at 20 places, including Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bathinda, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Patiala, Pathankot, Barnala and Mohali. Preparations are almost complete for the mock drill, he added.

Cheema said the directions of the home ministry would be followed during the exercise. The objective of such a drill is to create awareness among the public and take necessary precautions in the event of any attack, said Cheema.

Meanwhile, Ferozepur deputy commissioner Deepshikha Sharma said that as part of the mock drill preparations, six civil defence sirens would be sounded in the city and Ferozepur Cantonment area from 7 pm to 7:15 pm on Tuesday. She said that there was no need to worry.

A senior police official in Ferozepur said a blackout rehearsal will be carried out from 9 pm to 9:30 pm on Wednesday. The official said police patrolling teams will be deployed.

In Amritsar, deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said the siren would go off at 4 pm. “People are advised to move from tall buildings to ground or underground shelters, stay away from windows, especially glass, sit under a tree if no shelter is available and give way to emergency vehicles during the drill,” she said. For the blackout drill from 10.30 pm to 11 pm, residents have been urged to switch off inverters/generators to ensure no lighting. “Vehicles should pull over to the berms and turn off lights. This is only a preparedness exercise and there is no need to panic,” she added.

Meanwhile, Jalandhar saw a one-hour blackout that began at 8 pm in the cantonment and surrounding areas, deputy commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal said. “People were advised to not to use power generators and inverters during the drill. Such a drill will be carried out in the city on Wednesday,” he added.

In Sangrur, the mock drill would be conducted at Government Ranbir College, involving students, faculty and the general public. Deputy commissioner T Benith said the focus would be on fire suppression techniques, medical aid procedures, efficient evacuation protocols, managing power disruptions and fostering a spirit of mutual assistance. Necessary directions have been issued to the departments of local government, health and police.

Haryana too has geared up to conduct the exercise in Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Panchkula, Panipat and Rohtak among other areas.

According to a home ministry communication, the measures to be taken during the mock drills include the operationalisation of air-raid warning sirens, training civilians on civil-defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of a “hostile attack” and cleaning bunkers and trenches.

The other measures are provisions for crash-blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital plants and installations and updating and rehearsing evacuation plans, a letter to the chief secretaries of all states and administrators of Union Territories said.

The mock drills also include the operationalisation of hotline and radio-communication links with the Indian Air Force (IAF), testing the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms.

It said the active participation of the district controllers, various district authorities, civil-defence wardens, volunteers, home guards (active and reservists volunteers), National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), college and school students is envisaged in the exercise.