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Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
What is Operation Shield? Why are mock drills being conducted again?
Civil defence drills or mock drills are being conducted again across several states in India, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chandigarh, and Jammu and Kashmir under 'Operation Shield', days after a similar nationwide exercise took place on May 7. Mock drills aim to test India's readiness for emergency situations such as air raids, blackouts, and evacuations. Based on the home ministry's directive, to enhance emergency preparedness amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, mock drills have been restarted in several states in India from May 31. Also Read: 'Operation Shield': What will happen during mock drills in 6 states, UTs? Check details The initiative, named Operation Shield, was supposed to be launched on May 29, but had to be cancelled due to administrative reasons. The exercises are intended to simulate several emergency situations in the interest of national security, especially in states bordering Pakistan. Mock drills had been previously held in several states on May 7, following the Pahalgam terror attack which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. Also Read: Mock drill today: These states to conduct 'Operation Shield' exercise. Check timings, other details The mock drills are being conducted in light of officials identifying critical gaps in civil defence preparedness in vulnerable regions post the Pahalgam terror attack and heightened conflict with Pakistan. The drills will include sirens, blackouts, and emergency scenarios designed to test the readiness of local authorities and citizens in case of attacks or disasters. Also Read: Op Shield: Punjab all set for mock drills today Punjab's special director general of police, Sanjeev Kalra, told ANI news agency that the exercise would involve all districts starting at 6 pm. In Haryana and Rajasthan, drills are expected to begin at 5 pm. In Haryana, a total of 32,000 volunteers will take part in the drill across the state. Chief secretary of the revenue department (Gujarat), Jayanti Ravi, said that during the mock drill, young volunteers from the NCC, NSS, Bharat Scout and Guide will carry out various actions such as setting up a hotline between the Air Force and the Civil Security Control Room regarding enemy aircraft and missile attacks. During this time air raid sirens may be activated as well. Sanjeev Kalra added that fire services and representatives of the armed forces will also be involved in the exercise. On May 7, a nationwide mock drill exercise - 'Operation Abhyas' - was held in India, which came hours after Indian military strikes on Pakistani and PoK terror targets under 'Operation Sindoor'.
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Business Standard
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Gurugram begins 'Operation Shield' drill today, blackout at 8 p.m.
The district administration of Gurugram has issued a notification with details of the scheduled 'Operation Shield' today. The public notification informs that the drill will begin on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. The exercise is being organised as per the direction and guidance of the Union ministry of home affairs. It will simulate situations like air raids, drone attacks, and other wartime threats, keeping in mind the current concerns around national security, according to an official statement issued on Friday. The citizens have also been informed about dos and don'ts. Blackout timing is from 8:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. on May 31, 2025. The air raid siren will be heard at 5:00 p.m. Area to which the drill is scheduled is Gurugram district (may apply elsewhere, but this notification is district-specific). This is a part of the "Operation Shield" civil defence drill. Do's during the blackout: Turn off all lights. Draw curtains. Maintain silence. Cooperate with the district administration. Don'ts during the blackout: Do not use mobile phones. Do not light candles. Avoid unnecessary movement. Do not go outdoors. Authorities have also urged the public not to panic, as these drills will take place between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. The Haryana government earlier announced that it will conduct a major statewide civil defence exercise, "Operation Shield," on May 31 across all 22 districts to enhance the state's emergency preparedness and response capabilities. This is to simulate critical incidents such as air raids, drone attacks, and other wartime scenarios in the light of current national security concerns, an official statement said on Friday. The mock exercises scheduled should not be the cause of alarm for the citizens, officials said. The drill was previously scheduled for May 29 but was postponed as per the instructions of the home ministry, it said. Giving further details, Sumita Misra, additional chief secretary (Haryana home department), said on Friday that the exercise aims to test existing emergency mechanisms, improve coordination between the civil administration, defence forces, and local communities, and identify areas that need to be strengthened, thus ensuring swift and effective response during any crisis. She said that currently there are around 32,000 civil defence volunteers across the state who will also contribute to this exercise. All deputy commissioners have been directed to call out civil defence volunteers, NSS, NCC, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), and Home Guards of their respective districts to brief them regarding their deployment, duties, and exercises to be undertaken. She further stated that key components include drills responding to aerial threats such as air raids and swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), activation of air raid sirens, and testing of control room communication hotlines established with the Indian Air Force. Additionally, a controlled blackout of 15 minutes will be observed from 8 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. near vital installations, with the exception of essential emergency services such as hospitals, fire stations, and police stations. Misra highlighted that the exercise also aligns with the Incident Response System (IRS), which Haryana officially notified on January 28, 2025, under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, providing a structured framework for effective emergency response. She directed all deputy commissioners, who are also chairpersons of District Disaster Management Authorities, along with commissioners and superintendents of police, to ensure meticulous planning and execution of the exercise in their jurisdictions. They have been instructed to submit detailed Action Taken Reports to the Commandant General, Home Guards, and Director, Civil Defence, Haryana, which will be compiled for state-level review and forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
16-year-old from Uttarakhand scripts history by scaling Mt Everest
Roorkee: A 16-year-old from Uttarakhand was this year's youngest climber to scale Mt Everest. Sachin Kumar, an NCC cadet from Uttarkashi who recently cleared his Class 12 exams, was part of an all-India expedition team of 10 student cadets, five of them women, selected from across the country. The team departed from Delhi on April 3 and successfully summited the world's highest peak on May 18. Also on the team was Subedar Ankur Rawat, 40, a resident of Roorkee and the expedition's coach, who conquered the peak for the second time, having first done so in 2016. Uttarakhand was represented by five climbers: besides Kumar and Rawat, the team included 21-year-old Virendra Singh Samant from Champawat and 22-year-old Mukul Bangwal from Pauri Garhwal, both BSc students, as well as Col Rajneesh Joshi, 45, a resident of Dehradun who served as the expedition's deputy group leader. "We were a total of 17 climbers who summited Mount Everest at 3am on May 18. We stayed there for more than one and a half hours," said Rawat from Nepal. Uttarakhand's directorate of sports said that the climbers from the state will be officially welcomed and felicitated upon their return. The team is currently in Nepal. Among the five from Uttarakhand, Sachin Kumar is a student at Rajkiya Adarsh Kirti Inter College, Uttarkashi, and hails from the village of Dhanari. Cadet Samant is from Padanga Badoli in Champawat and is pursuing his BSc third year at DAV Degree College, Dehradun. Bangwal, from Kaliyasaur village in Pauri, is a BSc third-year student at HNB University's Srinagar campus. Col Joshi, also from Dehradun, is currently the Principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. Coach Rawat serves in the Secunderabad-based Army Ordnance Corps. "These five are the pride of our state. On this occasion, we also appeal to all achievers to share their records and other details with us through their respective departments so that we can continue to update our state's records from time to time," said Dharmendra Prakash Bhatt, joint director, Uttarakhand sports directorate. Last year, the Army Adventure Wing initiated plans for a Mt Everest expedition team comprising NCC cadets. A total of 240 students with an NCC 'B' certificate were initially shortlisted. From these, 34 were selected, who then underwent a high-altitude expedition to Mt Abi Gamin in Chamoli in Sept–Oct as a selection test. Eighteen cadets were chosen from that group. This year, those 18 cadets were trained in Siachen, after which the final team of 10 (five boys and five girls) was selected for the Everest expedition. They were: Sachin Kumar (Uttarkashi), Mukul Bangwal (Pauri), Virendra Singh Samant (Champawat), Mohit Knathia (Jammu), Padma Namgail (Leh Ladakh), Kritika Sharma (Himachal, the youngest female NCC cadet at 18), Monika (Rajasthan), Abida Afreen (Leh), Pratima Rai (West Bengal), and Rifiness Warjri (Meghalaya). The 25-member team, which included group leader Col Amit Bisht, deputy leader Col Rajneesh Joshi, and coach Subedar Ankur Rawat, was flagged off by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi on April 3.
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Climate
- Indian Express
Mock drills, blackouts to be held in Punjab today; here are the timings
The second statewide civil defence exercise, codenamed Operation Shield, will be held across Punjab on Saturday, with mock drills from 6 pm and blackouts between 8 pm and 10 pm, varying by district. The administration has urged residents to remain calm, clarifying that this is a routine preparedness drill in compliance with the Ministry of Home Affairs' mandate following the Pahalgam terror attack. This is the second such drill in Punjab, following the one held on May 7. Here are the district-wise timings and details: 1. Gurdaspur Mock drill: 6 pm at Gurdaspur bus stand Blackout: 8 pm to 8.30 pm Apart from civil defence teams, home guards, NCC, health department, fire brigade, and police teams will participate. Jaswinder Singh, the Dinanagar sub-divisional magistrate, is the nodal officer. Villagers have been advised to observe a voluntary blackout. 2. Ferozepur Sirens: 6:00 – 6:30 PM in city and cantonment areas Blackout: 9 pm to 9.30 pm Residents advised to turn off lights, stay indoors, and remain calm. 3. Amritsar Blackout: 8 pm to 8.30 pm Major Amit Sareen, additional deputy commissioner (urban development), has advised residents to stay in ground-floor safe rooms. Fans on inverters allowed; rooftop movement discouraged. 4. Tarn Taran Mock drill: 6 pm Blackout: 8.30 pm to 9 pm 5. Barnala Mock drill: 6 pm at Government Senior Secondary School (Sandhu Patti), Trident Factory, and Air Force Station (Bhadalwad) Blackout: 8.30 pm to 9 pm 6. Sangrur Mock drill: 6 pm Blackout: 8 pm to 9 pm 7. Pathankot Blackout: 8 pm to 10 pm (Exact timing yet to be confirmed) 8. Fazilka Mock drill: 6 pm Blackout: Timing yet to be finalised 9. Jalandhar Mock drill: 6 pm Blackout: 9.30 pm to 10 pm 10. Patiala Mock drill: 5 pm to 8 pm at Raja Bhalindra Singh Sports Stadium (Polo Ground) Blackout: 8 pm to 8.10 pm at Lal Bagh Colony Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Isha Singhal emphasised the importance of preparedness. 11. Ludhiana Blackout: 8 pm to 8.15 pm Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd will cut power supply to 18 villages and Rajguru Nagar just before the drill and restore it after 15 minutes. Areas affected: Bhanohar, Hasanpur, Baddowal, Rurka, Jamgpur, Khadoor, Haveli, Adda City Dakha, Ajitsar, Issewal, Gahour, Detwal, Kailpur, Baraich, Madiani, MorKarima, Boothgarh, and Baddowal Cantonment area. 12. Bathinda Mock drill: 6 pm in Army area and Ganpati Colony Blackout: 8.30 pm to 8.40 pm Deputy Commissioner Shaukat Ahmad Parray said sirens will be sounded, and compliance is mandatory. 13. Malerkotla Mock drill: 1 pm at DC office Blackout: Not specified 14. Muktsar Mock drill: 6 pm at DC office Blackout: Not specified 15. Fatehgarh Sahib Mock drill: 6 pm at DC office Blackout: Not specified 16. Faridkot Mock drill: 6 pm at Kotkapura (Venue TBD) Blackout: Not specified 17. Moga Mock drill and blackout: 8 pm near Nestlé plant Additional Deputy Commissioner Charumita emphasised safety preparedness. 18. Mansa Not a part of civil defence districts. No mock drills or blackouts planned at the time of filing this report. 19. Mohali Mock drill: 6 pm at BPCL Lalru (Derabassi) Deputy Commissioner Komal Mittal said an air raid siren will precede a rescue simulation. Traffic lights and vehicle headlights will be turned off in the area. 20. Rupnagar Mock drill: 5 pm at NFL Nangal Blackout: 8 pm to 8.15 pm Deputy Commissioner Varjeet Walia urged residents not to panic. 21. Hoshiarpur Mock drill: 6 pm Blackout: 8 pm to 8.15 pm Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain has issued detailed instructions for total darkness, including external lights, inverters, CCTV lights, and signage. Essential lighting must be covered if it cannot be turned off. 22. Nawanshahr Mock drill: 6 pm Blackout: 8 pm to 8.15 pm 23. Kapurthala Blackout: 9.30 pm to 10 pm. Only in Kapurthala and Phagwara
News24
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- News24
SA vehicle recalls: Honda's Goldwing, Chevrolet's Cruze, Aveo and Orlando
For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page. The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has provided an update on the recall of Chevrolet vehicles and a range of Honda Goldwing motorcycles. These include the recall of Chevrolet's Cruze, Aveo and Orlando, and certain Honda Goldwing motorcycle models made from 2018 to 2021. Stellantis South Africa informed the NCC that they are recalling the Chevrolet models due to a defective propellant inside the driver's airbag. According to the supplier, the propellant inside the driver's airbag may experience alteration over time, which may cause it to generate gas faster than designed when the airbag inflator is deployed during a crash, the NCC said. These vehicles were made available nationally from 2010 to 2018. Consumers must visit the nearest authorised dealership for the repair or replacement of the affected airbag.) Honda motorcycles Honda Motor Southern Africa informed the NCC that it was recalling certain Goldwing motorcycle models made available from 2018 to 2021. The affected models are GL1800B, GL1800BD, GL1800D, and GL1800DA, which were distributed nationally. The defect is due to a broken primary drive gear tightening bolt. According to the supplier, 'an engine stops unexpectedly while driving and cannot restart. In the worst case, it can cause engine lock and increase the risk of falling by rear wheel locking.' Consumers are required to visit their nearest Honda dealership for a replacement with the reinforced Primary Drive Gear Tightening Bolt, which has greater fatigue strength.
