Amid threat of airstrike, schools, colleges closed in Ambala, blackout in night till further orders
Ajay Singh Tomer
, on Friday ordered a blackout during the night hours from 8 pm to 6 am till further order.
Schools, colleges and institutes were also open in Ambala on Friday, but they were ordered to be closed by the district administration and the students were sent back home at about 11 am.
DM Tomer held a press conference at his office, in which he said that two incidents took place in Ambala on Friday. 'At 10:20 am, we received a warning from the
Air Force
that they had spotted a drone, which could move towards Ambala also. At that time, it was 70 kilometers away from Ambala.
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On receiving this information, we started sirens and all disaster management teams were kept on standby mode to deal with any situation.'
'The situation went on for about 10 to 15 minutes, after which, we turned off the sirens. The Air Force had later informed us that the drone was not proceeding towards Ambala, it had not been spotted for some time, so we turned off the sirens, said DM Tomer.
About the blast-like sound heard by residents of Ambala on Friday, DM Tomer clarified that no such activity took place.
'It was a sonic boom caused by the Air Force fighter jet. We have the most advanced and sophisticated fighter jets. One of the fighter jets went supersonic. When a fighter jet travels at more speed than sound, it causes a sound barrier and sonic boom, which is very fast and loud. It may shatter windows also.
It was that sonic boom, which signifies the capability of our Air Force and fighter jets', said Ambala DM.
In his order, DM Ambala said, 'prevailing circumstances and intelligence inputs indicating a potential air strike threat from Pakistan, it is imperative to ensure complete blackout during the night hours to safeguard public safety and strategic interests.'
Therefore, 'totally ban the use of Inverter, Generator and any other power backup used for outdoor lights, bill board, street lights, etc. from sunset to sunrise (i.e. 8 pm to 6 am) in district Ambala till further order', reads the DM order.
These may be used for indoor use on condition that all doors and windows are fully covered by thick curtains, so as to ensure no lights come out.
The district machinery and departments have been asked to promulgate this order by announcement through publicity vans and other means.
At about 11 am,
Ambala DM Tomar
also issued an alert that an air warning had been received from the Air force station of possible attack, due to which, sirens were also sounded. He said all people are advised to remain indoors, away from balconies and only venture out in case of urgency for the next two hours.
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