- NEW DELHI — In a significant move to enhance national security preparedness,
civil defence mock drills will be conducted on Saturday, under 'Operation
Shield' across several states and Union Territories sharing borders with
Pakistan.
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- The exercises are scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. and
will be held in Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and
Chandigarh, focussing on regions closest to the border and most susceptible to
cross-border threats.
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- Initially planned for May 29, the drills were rescheduled
due to administrative reasons.
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- A government press release issued on May 29 confirmed the
new date and emphasised the importance of this exercise in bolstering readiness
and closing critical gaps identified during a similar nationwide drill
conducted earlier this month on May 7.
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- 'Operation Shield' is designed to simulate hostile
situations, including air raid sirens, blackout protocols, and various
emergency response actions to evaluate the preparedness of civil authorities,
emergency services, and local populations.
Related: India to conduct mock drills in states bordering Pakistan today
- The drills aim to replicate real-time scenarios that may
arise from potential external threats, particularly in sensitive districts near
the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB).
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- According to official sources, complete blackouts will be
enforced in identified vulnerable civilian areas across Punjab, except for
essential services such as hospitals and emergency response units. Sirens will
be sounded to alert residents, and mock response measures will be enacted to
test how effectively communities and response agencies react under pressure.
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- Government officials highlighted that the previous
nationwide exercise revealed several operational deficiencies, prompting the
need for follow-up drills focussed specifically on high-risk zones.
