Air warning in Chandigarh over possible drone attack, sirens sounded

Amid the rising tensions between India and Pakistan, an air warning has been received from the Air Force station of a possible attack in Chandigarh on Friday.

Taking to X, the official account of the Chandigarh administration said, "Sirens are being sounded." It further advised civilians to remain indoors and away from balconies.

The Mohali district administration has also advised people residing in the neighbouring areas of Chandigarh to stay indoors, news agency PTI reported. Citing a message from the Mohali administration, it said, "There is an alert in some areas of Chandigarh. We are advising Mohali residents in the bordering sectors to remain indoors and away from windows and glass panes."

This comes days after the Indian armed forces carried out coordinated missile strikes on terrorist infrastructure at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under the code name 'Operation Sindoor.' The operation was carried out in the early hours of Wednesday (May 7) and came in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists.

Hours after Operation Sindoor was carried out, the Pakistani Army resorted to heavy artillery firing across border areas along the Line of Control (LoC), resulting in the death of 16 civilians.

Blackout in Indian cities

On Thursday, a blackout was enforced in several districts of Punjab, including Pathankot, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Mohali, and Chandigarh. This came after Pakistan launched a series of missiles and drones in some cities in the bordering areas.

Air raid sirens were activated in Pathankot when the blackout was enforced at around 8:30 pm, news agency PTI reported. The authorities advised the civilians to stay indoors and to keep the lights turned off, while also assuring them that there was no need to panic.

Precautionary measures

On Thursday, schools and colleges in border states like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan were closed and will remain shut for the next few days.

This came after the Ministry of Defence said that India foiled Pakistan's bid to hit crucial military installations, including stations at Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur, with drones and missiles on Thursday evening.

While schools, colleges, and universities in Jammu have been closed for two days, educational institutions in Punjab will remain shut for the next three days, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said in a post on X.