The North News
New Delhi, May 28
The government is set to conduct large-scale civil defence mock drills on Thursday across four states bordering Pakistan — Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir — in a move aimed at bolstering emergency preparedness in sensitive regions, government sources said. Punjab has decided to conduct mock drills on June 3.
The coordinated exercises, scheduled to begin at 5pm, are designed to test the readiness of civilian and administrative infrastructure to respond to emergencies such as cross-border hostilities, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters. While the Ministry of Home Affairs has not issued an official statement, officials familiar with the matter said the drills form part of a wider effort to enhance national resilience amid lingering security challenges. Defence officials maintain that “Operation Sindoor” — a multi-layered internal security initiative — remains active and has not ended yet.
Meanwhile the Punjab government in an official statement said that the 2nd civil defence exercise “Operation Shield” will be held on June 3 at 1930 hrs. in Punjab State. Earlier it was scheduled for May 29 but the nodal officers of the concerned department are undergoing training for civil defence being conducted by NDRF. Hence, the 2nd civil defence exercise “Operation Shield” will be held on June 3 at 1930 hrs in Punjab.
A spokesperson informed that in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 19 of the civil defence Rules, 1968, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has decided to hold 2nd civil defence exercise “Operation Shield” in all the districts of States and UTs, adjoining Western border of the country. These drills follow the directive issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. The 1st civil defence exercise was held on May 7.
He said that complete blackout measures would be taken in adjoining civilian VA/VPs excluding emergency / critical services and Air Raid Sirens would be operated. He requested to plan and organize the civil defence Exercise “Operation Shield” by involving all local administration and stakeholders.
