Punjab On High Alert: Early Closures, Sirens, Blackout Orders In Amritsar, Mohali, Chandigarh (screengrab-X/nagmasingh5)
Punjab: Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, authorities in Punjab’s Chandigarh, Amritsar, and Mohali have issued a series of advisory measures, including early shutdown of commercial shops and blackout orders. The move comes after Pakistan violated Indian airspace by sending 300-400 Turkish drones in or near 36 towns or cities across Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab – from Srinagar to Jaisalmer, and Pathankot on the intervening night of May 8 and 9, hours after Operation Sindoor.
Pak drones were also sighted at the Siachen glacier base camp in Ladakh and in the Kutch area in Gujarat; the two are nearly 1,400km apart, which underlines the vast spread of the attack. 50 of the drones were shot down by air defence guns, while another 20 were neutralised by jamming radio frequencies, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said during the recent press briefing.
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Chandigarh
The Chandigarh administration has directed all shops selling non-essential items like clothes, hotels, restaurants, malls and more to close before 7 pm.
Shops selling essential items, including medicines, can remain open, as they are exempt from the directive.
The order is effective for Friday only, and shops can resume their routine operations in the morning, said Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav.
— Chandigarh Admn (@chandigarh_admn) May 9, 2025
Meanwhile, all coaching institutes in Chandigarh are also advised to suspend classes until Sunday.
“Considering the current situation and prioritising the safety of students and staff, all coaching institutes in Chandigarh are advised to suspend classes until Sunday. The situation will be reassessed on Sunday evening, and further instructions will follow,” read an advisory by the Director of School Education, Chandigarh Administration.
ALERT
All shop establishments including restaurants in Chandigarh are required to be closed by 7:00 PM today, May 9, 2025. However these orders will not be applicable for medical shops.
DC Chandigarh
— Chandigarh Admn (@chandigarh_admn) May 9, 2025
Mohali
In Mohali, cinema halls and shopping malls will remain closed from 8 pm to 6 am daily until further notice. According to reports, using inverters for outdoor lights, billboards, streetlights, and solar lights during a blackout is prohibited.
Firecrackers and long-beam laser or DJ lights are also strictly prohibited in the evenings. Violators will face prosecution.
Residents have also been advised to refrain from stepping out unless absolutely necessary and to comply with sirens or emergency signals.
Following the complaint by residents of Mohali city, Kharar, Gharuan and Zirakpur about existing air raid sirens being inaudible, the administration began installing new air raid sirens, with 30 requisitioned for Kharar and 20 for Zirakpur and Dera Bassi on Friday, reported Tribune India.
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Amritsar
The local administration has reportedly announced that blackout drills will no longer be conducted. Instead, residents have been instructed to treat any sounding of a siren as a real alert and immediately switch off all lights.
Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry on Friday activated 14 of 32 infantry battalions of the Territorial Army – India’s auxiliary military force – for deployment across the country till 2028.
