Air raid siren testing carried out at PWD building in ITO; more sirens to be installed across Delhi

Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on Friday said air raid sirens will be installed at multiple high-rise buildings across the national capital amid a military conflict between India and Pakistan.

The civil defence directorate carried out testing of an air raid siren installed atop the multi-storey PWD building in ITO on Friday afternoon.

“From Friday night, 40 to 50 sirens will be installed atop multi-storey and high-rise buildings. They will be used in case of an emergency situation. There will be one command centre for controlling them and they will be rung for five minutes. We will be able to use them in situations of a blackout. These sirens will be under the control of the NDMA. We will cover entire Delhi,” he said.

The minister said the siren that was tested on Friday can be heard within a radius of 8km.

While the testing was being carried out, briefing was being given that if a siren has been sounded, people should take shelter under tables or basements. Officials said that this is just for testing and being prepared if any untoward incident occurs. It added that the general public is required to remain calm and not to panic during the testing exercise.

The testing comes amid intensified hostilities between India and Pakistan involving missile attacks and shelling.