Punjab to hold mock drill Operation Shield on June 3
While Haryana said it will conduct a mock drill under Operation Shield Thursday, Punjab will hold the drill in the border districts on June 3 to strengthen the state's emergency preparedness and response systems.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had written a letter to the Punjab Government to conduct a mock drill on Thursday.
Sources said Sanjeev Kalra, Special DGP, Punjab Home Guard and Civil Defence, wrote to the Centre expressing inability to conduct the mock drills on May 29, saying a training of civil defence officers is underway in the state. According to sources, Kalra told the Centre that the mock drill will be conducted at 7.30 pm on June 3.
The state government is yet to hear from the Centre on whether they have accepted the decision by Punjab.
Under Operation Shield, the mock drill will be conducted in districts which have been declared as Civil Defence districts by the Centre, including border districts and Ludhiana.
Apart from Haryana, mock drills will also be held in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Gujarat on Thursday evening.
On May 7, India conducted a mock drill under Operation Abhyaas shortly after Operation Sindoor, India's military operation under which the armed forces targeted terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
In Punjab, the mock drills were held at the civil defence towns of Amritsar, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Batala, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Adampur, Ludhiana, Halwara, Patiala, Pathankot, Barnala, Mohali, Faridkot, Kotkapura, Rupnagar, Bhakra Nangal, Sangrur and Abohar.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
37 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Pakistan govt responds to PM Modi speech on their involvement in Pahalgam attack. Here's what they said
Pakistan on Friday reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech about Islamabad's involvement in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and said it was "dismayed". Addressing an event in Jammu and Kashmir's Katra, the PM said that the terror incident in Pahalgam was an at attack on the "insaniyat and Kashmiriyat", adding that it was aimed at triggering riots in India. 'Its intent was to incite riots in India and to disrupt the livelihood of the hardworking people of Kashmir. That is why Pakistan targeted the tourists," he added. PM Modi took a sharp jibe at Pakistan and said that Islamabad "intended to incite communal violence in India and cripple the earnings of hard working Kashmiris. Pakistan's foreign minister commented on PM Modi's remarks and said it 'firmly rejects the baseless and misleading' comments. 'We are deeply dismayed that the Indian prime minister has once again chosen to accuse Pakistan of involvement in the Pahalgam attack, without presenting a single piece of credible evidence,' it said in a statement. PM Modi also heaped praises on the people of Jammu and Kashmir for standing up against Pakistan's conspiracy. 'The youth of Jammu and Kashmir are now determined to give a strong response to terrorism. This is the same terrorism that burned down schools, destroyed hospitals in the Valley, and ruined generations," he added. Tensions escalated between the two nuclear-armed neighbours after terrorists opened fire at civilians, mostly tourists, at Baisaran near Pahalgam on April 22. At least 26 persons lost their lives during this attack. The following day, India imposed several measures against Pakistan as a response move to the terror attack, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. Two weeks later, on May 7, the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor, striking nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Under this operation, more than 100 terrorists were killed. Following India's strike, Pakistan also tried to launch a retaliatory action against New Delhi. However, all its attempts, including the use of cross-border shelling, drones, and unarmed aerial vehicles, were foiled by the Indian forces. Amid the continued intense fighting, on the night of May 9-10, the Indian armed forces once again struck targets; this time, they were 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations. After four-days of cross-border fighting, on May 10, the director general of military operations of Pakistan contacted his Indian counterpart, seeking a cessation of all military actions against each other. The two nations arrived at an understanding and ceased all activities on each other.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Uttam vows to fight for Telangana's fair share in Krishna waters
Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N on Friday said the Congress govt has been making every effort to stall the Andhra Pradesh govt from illegally utilising Krishna waters. He asserted that the state govt would go to any extent to protect Telangana's rights over river waters. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Speaking about the Godavari-Banakcherla link scheme, under which the AP govt plans to divert the floodwaters from Godavari, the minister said Telangana govt wrote several letters to Union minister of Jal Shakti CR Patil and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, objecting to the neighbouring state's proposal. He said that the scheme violates the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) tribunal award as well as the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. He dismissed the allegations of the BRS that the state govt was not doing anything to stall the irrigation scheme. "The state govt received a letter from Jal Shakti minister CR Patil last week, who said the Andhra Pradesh govt has not yet submitted a detailed proposal for the Godavari-Banakacherla river linking scheme. He assured the Telangana govt that once the proposal is received from the AP govt, the Central Water Commission (CWC) would examine it in accordance with the existing guidelines, tribunal and inter-state agreements and various provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act 2014, and would take appropriate action," Uttam Kumar Reddy told reporters. He added that the Telangana govt had brought to the notice of the Centre by writing multiple letters that the AP govt was proceeding with calling tenders and awarding contracts for the project, thereby flouting several norms. He urged the Centre not to fund the project and appealed to BJP ministers and MPs from Telangana to cooperate with the state govt on the issue. The minister accused the BRS of doing injustice to Telangana by agreeing to a water-sharing agreement of 299 TMC for Telangana and 512 TMC for AP in Krishna river since 2015. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "It was Congress govt that opposed it and has been asking for 700 TMC for Telangana," Uttam said. The minister further alleged that the BRS govt failed to stop the neighbouring state when it altered the scope of ongoing projects and proposed new schemes to divert the Krishna water. "While 727 TMC of water was utilised outside the Srisailam project during the previous Congress rule between 2004 and 2014, the diversion rose to over 1,250 TMC between 2014 and 2023, as per the official figures," Uttam Kumar Reddy said while giving the various schemes such as Pothireddypadu head regulator and other schemes. He accused the BRS govt of helping the Andhra Pradesh govt led by Jaganmohan Reddy earlier to take up the Rayalaseem Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) and even asked the Centre to postpone the Apex council meeting to allow the AP to complete tendering process in 2020. The minister said that had the BRS govt not spent an additional Rs 68,000 crore on Kaleshwaram and instead allocated funds to other irrigation schemes, the state could have brought an additional 25 lakh acres under irrigation.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Pakistan writes multiple letters to India urging them to restore Indus Waters Treaty
Pakistani authorities have written to their Indian counterparts several times since April to reconsider the decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. India's decision to keep the six-decade-old Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance until Pakistan 'credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism' was part of punitive measures unveiled by New Delhi a day after the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. Also Read: Shehbaz Sharif seeks Donald Trump's mediation as India's delegation corners Pakistan in US Pakistan's water resources secretary Syed Ali Murtaza has sent a total of four letters to India's Jal Shakti ministry since then, urging a review of the decision to suspend the treaty. It wasn't immediately clear when the letters were sent, but a person aware of the matter said that three of the letters were written after Operation Sindoor. The Pakistani side has continued to claim that the treaty cannot be unilaterally suspended by India and that the suspension violates the pact's provisions, according to people familiar with the communications who spoke on condition of anonymity. Also Read: Who is Ishaan Tharoor? Shashi Tharoor's son who questioned Congress MP on Pakistan in US The letters were a response to a formal notification on April 24 from India's water resources secretary Debashree Mukherjee to her Pakistani counterpart about the decision to keep the treaty in abeyance. 'The obligation to honour a treaty in good faith is fundamental to a treaty. However, what we have seen instead is sustained cross-border terrorism by Pakistan targeting the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir,' Mukherjee had written. There has been no Indian response to Pakistan's letters so far, with people familiar with the matter saying India 'remains firm on its decision.' External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated on April 29 that the country would not engage in talks with Pakistan until the neighbour 'credibly and irrevocably abjures cross-border terrorism.' The Indian side has stopped sharing all data related to the flows of the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab – that were allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 treaty. Also Read: Malaysia rejects Pakistan's 'Islamic solidarity' attempt to derail Indian delegation's visit: Report The water sharing arrangement under the treaty stands at 80:20 in favour of Pakistan, making the South Asian nation heavily dependent on the Indus waters system for its economy and agriculture. Former Union water resources secretary Shashi Shekhar said Pakistan is 'desperate' because about a quarter of its gross domestic product depends on the Indus waters. 'The consequences of the treaty's abeyance would be fairly serious I would assume because it can stoke civil unrest too,' Shekhar said. Shekhar revealed that he had recommended suspending or pulling out of the treaty in 2016 as the top water resources bureaucrat. 'But Prime Minister Narendra Modi said water resources should be for benefit of all, but he had warned then that water and flood can't flow together. And when the Pahalgam attacks took place, the room for talks or tolerance ceased,' he said. Pakistani leaders have responded with strong rhetoric, saying any reduction of water flows allowed under the Indus Waters Treaty will be seen as an 'act of war.' The Indus Waters Treaty has survived four wars between India and Pakistan since its signing in 1960, making this the first time the pact has been suspended. Even before the Pahalgam attacks, India had been asking for the treaty to be mutually reworked, citing natural changes in the Indus river basin that had diminished India's share amid a burgeoning population.
