Control room set up, more sirens being procured

As the tensions between India and Pakistan continue to escalate, a control room for emergency services has been set up in the District Administrative Complex in Jalandhar.

The room has been set up adjoining to the DC's office wherein the staff have been deployed. The staff from various departments, including revenue, agriculture, and food and civil supplies, have been deployed in three shifts to attend to all emergency calls received on landline number 0181-2224417.

The administration is also in the process of procuring more sirens to sound alert in the city in the event of any exigency. There are 14 sirens, all working, which were played during blackout mockdrill last evening. Since the city limits have expanded, the sirens were found to be not enough as they have a limited reach. "Within two-three days, we shall install more sirens in the city for a wider coverage," said Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal.

The administration is also gearing up to rope in more volunteers in the civil defence team. So far, there are 515 members in the team in Jalandhar that helps in rescue operations at the time of emergencies. "We have started urging more people to register with us so that a trained manpower is available with us on call 24x7. Anyone who is an adult is welcome", said Dr Aggarwal.

Meanwhile, the Adampur Civil Airport, where flights were cancelled for two days, has been indefinitely closed now. The authorities said on Thursday that the civil airport would remain non-functional till further orders.

As another precautionary measure, the staff of the Food and Civil Supplies Department on Thursday visited D Mart Supermarket where the staff were told not to allow bulk purchase of grocery items. The staff urged the customers to make purchases responsibly.