CHANDIGARH: Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, civil defence mock drills will be held at 20 places in Punjab, besides several locations in Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Wednesday, as per instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).In Punjab, the mock drills will be held in Amritsar, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Batala, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Adampur, Halwara, Patiala, Pathankot, Barnala, Mohali, Faridkot, Kotkapura, Rupnagar, Bhakra Nangal, Sangrur and Abohar.Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “The civil defence teams and Punjab Police, along with the Home Ministry, will conduct mock drills tomorrow,” adding that the state government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is closely monitoring the exercise to ensure the safety of citizens.”Preparations are almost complete for conducting the mock drills. The objective of the drills is to create awareness among the public and take necessary precautions in the event of any attack,” he added.Cheema said the directions of the Home Ministry will be followed during the mock drills. Sources said that public announcements will be made before the drills.As per the guidelines issued by MHA, 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. The ministry had asked several states to conduct mock drills on May 7 for effective civil defence.”In the meeting today, the issue of sirens was raised as for many years these have not been tested thus many might be dysfunctional for that we need to first check the working of all the civil and defence siren systems and these will be tested. Thus people should not panic,” said a senior functionary who took part in the meeting.
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