The civil defence exercise which was scheduled to take place on Thursday in states and Union Territories adjoining the western border, have been officially postponed in the states of Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan. Punjab, however, is scheduled conduct the mock drills on June 3. Jammu and Kashmir has not announced any change of plan as of now.
The exercise under Operation Shield was aimed to keep the border states prepared for any emergency escalatory situation. These four states and Union Territory were most affected during the four-day military standoff between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan Postpone Drill
On Wednesday evening, the Haryana government announced that the scheduled programme stood postponed following the Union Home Ministry's directions.
"According to the instructions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the Haryana Home Department announced the postponement of the comprehensive civil defence exercise, Operation Shield, which was scheduled to be conducted on Thursday," an official statement said, as per PTI.
Besides Haryana, the Chandigarh administration also announced postponement of the civil defence exercise. Earlier, the mock drill was scheduled to take place across all the 22 districts of the state between 5 pm and 9 pm on Thursday to strengthen emergency preparedness.
A statement issued by the UT administration on Wednesday evening said, "As per the directions received from the Government of India, it is hereby informed that the civil defence exercise Operation Shield, which was planned for May 29, is hereby postponed due to administrative reasons. There will be no blackout or mock drill tomorrow."
Similarly, Rajasthan also postponed the drill which was scheduled to take place across all the 41 districts of the state on Thursday evening.
According to an official statement, the civil defence exercise has been postponed due to administrative reasons and a new date will be announced soon.
Punjab To Conduct The Drill On June 3
Meanwhile, the Punjab government wrote to the Centre on Wednesday, proposing June 3 as the date for carrying out the mock drill, citing that their civil defence staff were undergoing training being conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
According to a senior Punjab Police officer, the Centre accepted the state government's request for holding the drill on June 3. The deputy commissioners in Punjab have been told that the civil defence exercise will take place in all districts on June 3.
About Operation Shield
To augment the civil defence preparedness against any hostile attack, Operation Shield has been planned in all the districts of states and UTs adjoining the western border.
During the exercise, there will be activation of centrally controlled and operated air raid sirens, and complete blackout measures adjoining civilian areas among others, sources said.
According to the plan, during the mock drills, evacuation of the families of one of the military stations will be practised in case of drone attacks. The deployment of medical teams and the transportation of blood units, among others, will also be done, according to the plan.
