Early on Thursday morning, May 8, Amritsar district administration had imposed a second three-hour blackout as a precaution. The blackout came a day after India launched counter-attacks against terror locations across the Line of Control (LoC) close to the Pakistani border.
The blackout drill first began between 10:30 pm and 11:00 pm on Wednesday and resumed from 1:30 am Thursday morning. According to the district public relations officer, the blackout was a pre-cautionary measure designed to safeguard civilians with tension levels elevated.
Gurdaspur District Administration has ordered a complete blackout in the district from 9:00 pm on 8th May to 5:00 am on May 9 daily until further notice. Only hospitals and jails are exempt from this order but even then the doors and windows are supposed to be locked properly to prevent light leakage.
Amritsar Enforces Second Blackout
Taking maximum precautions, the district administration of Amritsar has once again started the blackout process. “Please remain indoors, do not panic and do not gather outside your houses; keep the outside lights off,” ANI reported quoting the official statement.
There were unconfirmed social media reports that there were explosions heard in Amritsar at roughly the same time, though no confirmation has been made yet.
The administration has asked people to remain calm, stay indoors, and avoid gathering in groups. The blackout is part of a larger civil defence mock drill imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs aimed at assessing preparedness in the wake of the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam two weeks ago.
