Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, Mrs. Sakshi Sahni, informed that as per the instructions of the Government of India, a preparedness drill will be conducted on May 7 to handle any emergency situation. As part of this drill, a siren will sound at 4 PM tomorrow, symbolizing an air raid alert.
She stated that whenever this siren is heard—tomorrow or in the future—citizens are expected to promptly evacuate tall buildings and move to ground-level shelters or underground locations. If such facilities are unavailable, people should take cover under trees. Those inside buildings should move away from windows, especially those with glass.
She added that during this time, pedestrians and vehicles must give way to emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances.
She emphasized that this drill is being conducted by Civil Defense to test the functionality and sound of the sirens. Therefore, there is absolutely no need to panic.
She further informed us that a blackout drill will also be conducted tomorrow night from 10:30 to 11:00 PM. During this period, all city lights will be switched off, and citizens are requested to keep their inverters and generators off as well. If, for some reason, these need to remain on, lights should be used in such a way that no illumination escapes through windows or doors.
Additionally, automatic lights such as solar lights or motion-sensor CCTV lights should also be turned off to ensure complete darkness in the city.
If anyone is driving during this time, they should turn off their vehicle lights and pull over to the side of the road or onto an unpaved area until the drill is over.