Civil defence drills in border states postponed

Civil defence drills that were due to be conducted in districts along the border with Pakistan on Thursday evening have been postponed, the Hindustan Times reported.

Official statements from the governments of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir said the exercise has been postponed for administrative reasons, and a new date will be announced later, the newspaper reported.

The drills – codenamed Operation Shield – were to be held starting at 5 pm in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The Punjab government on Wednesday sent a proposal to the Centre suggesting June 3 as a fresh date for conducting the mock drill, noting that their civil defence personnel were currently in training with the National Disaster Response Force, PTI reported.

Punjab’s Civil Defence Director General of Police Sajeev Kalra told the news agency that the Centre approved the state’s request to hold the drill at 7.30 pm on June 3.

Similar drills were conducted in several states on May 7 amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

The exercise had involved testing air raid sirens, training civilians and students to protect themselves, blackout procedures, camouflaging key sites and practicing revised evacuation plans in case of a “hostile event”.

The drills had taken place on the day when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it...

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