Blackout Mock Drill To Be Held In Punjab On April 24, Here’s Why

The drill will be carried out at Pytex Ground, Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar and Ludhiana’s Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) from 8 pm on Friday.

A blackout mock drill will be held in Amritsar and Ludhiana. (PTI/Representative Image)

A blackout mock drill will be held in several areas of Ludhiana and Amritsar in Punjab at 8 pm on April 24, Friday, under the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The drill is being carried out to assess the preparedness of Civil Defence.

The drill will be carried out at Pytex Ground, Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar and Ludhiana’s Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), along with areas under the Aggar Nagar PSPCL division, on Friday from 8 to 8:15 pm.

Punjab’s Assistant Commissioner General Pragati Sethi and Additional Controller of Civil Defence, Manpreet Singh Randhawa, held a meeting with the concerned departments in this regard. The mock drill will begin at 8 pm with an air raid warning signal.

During the drill, the electricity department will switch off the lights in the concerned areas, and people have been requested to switch off all lights and follow the blackout exercise. At around 7:55 pm, a siren will be sounded, and public announcements will be made to alert people.

Why This Drill Is Being Held?

The exercise is being held to assess civil defence preparedness to prepare the country against any unforeseen emergencies. Residents have been asked to extend full cooperation by ensuring a complete blackout.

The drill will involve coordinated efforts from multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire brigade, district administration, Municipal Corporation, police, health department, and NCC.

The mock exercise will also include symbolic rehearsals of firefighting operations, search and rescue activities, first aid and medical assistance, transportation of the injured, and measures for traffic and crowd control.

Essential services will continue to operate during this time. Civil Defence Instructor Harjaye Khanna stated that after the completion of the mock exercise, an “All Clear” signal (a continuous loud siren for 2 minutes) will be given, which will indicate the end of the exercise.

Mock Drills In 2025

Last year, these mock drills were held in Punjab and other states under the instructions of the Home Ministry, shortly before India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which completed its one-year anniversary today.

The Home Affairs Ministry stated that 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.

On May 31, mock drills were held in all the districts of six border regions – Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, and Chandigarh – as part of Operation Shield, which aimed to assess and strengthen India’s preparedness against possible external threats.

Read More