Air Raid Sirens Wail, Blackouts Grip North India Amid Tensions with Pakistan. ALL SCHOOLS TO remain shut in Chandigarh on May 9 and May 10.
Mock drills or real threat? Panic and preparedness sweep Chandigarh, Jammu, and Punjab towns
Chandigarh/Jammu/Amritsar — Air raid sirens pierced the evening calm across Chandigarh, Jammu, Amritsar, and Jalandhar as authorities imposed sudden blackouts, throwing entire towns into darkness — a chilling reminder of wartime drills last seen decades ago.
Alert: All schools to remain closed tomorrow and day after in UT Chandigarh.
What started as a "mock drill" quickly took a serious turn in Jammu, where explosions were reported near the airport, triggering immediate defence responses. Intelligence sources say Pakistan launched a wave of eight missiles targeting Jammu’s civil airport, all of which were intercepted by India’s S-400 air defence system.
Meanwhile, in Chandigarh and across the Tricity region, citizens were urged to switch off lights between 7:30 and 7:40 PM, simulating a civil defence protocol. The sirens, loud and unmistakable, prompted businesses to halt operations and traffic to a standstill. In many homes, lights went out, people crouched low — unsure if this was just a drill or something more sinister.
Punjab’s border towns — Amritsar, Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar — also enforced blackouts. Even the Golden Temple went dark for a brief moment, a powerful image of unity and caution. The district authorities, under instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs, carried out these exercises as part of a nationwide civil defence preparedness mission across 244 vulnerable districts.
In the backdrop of Operation Sindoor — India’s retaliatory strike on terror camps in Pakistan after the Pahalgam bus attack — these measures have rattled residents who now question if the country is quietly preparing for escalation.
Security agencies insist this is a “precautionary measure” and “not a cause for panic.” But social media was flooded with videos, photos, and questions. Was it just a drill, or was there a genuine strike threat?
A senior UT Chandigarh official told Himbu Mail, “This is part of a high-level preparedness program. But yes, we are also on alert given recent developments at the border.”
For now, normalcy is returning. But the sirens may still be ringing in people's minds — because even a "drill" amid real tensions can feel like a warning bell.
