A Civil Defence mock drill will be held in Amritsar on April 24 at 8:00 pm at Pitex Ground in Ranjit Avenue as per directions from the Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India.
Assistant Commissioner Madam Pragati Sethi and Additional Controller Civil Defence Manpreet Singh Randhawa informed that the drill will begin with an air raid warning siren exactly at 8 pm and the authorities have clearly said that people should not panic as this is only a practice exercise.
During the drill the electricity department will switch off lights only in the Pitex Ground area for a short time and people in nearby areas are advised to turn off non-essential lights during this period however essential services will continue to function normally.
Officials said that after the exercise ends an “all clear” signal will be given through a continuous siren for two minutes and the drill will include practice of emergency situations like firefighting, search and rescue, first aid, medical help and shifting of injured persons along with this teams from Civil Defence, police, Health Department and NCC students will take part and also manage traffic and crowd control.
Authorities said the purpose of this exercise is to check preparedness and train teams to handle emergency situations and such mock drills are conducted across the country in April and November every year. Officials once again appealed to the public to stay calm and cooperate as the sirens and blackout are part of a planned safety drill.