Sirens at 7 PM: 6 Bihar Districts Go Dark in Civil Defense Mock Drill

In a bid to bolster emergency preparedness, Bihar's six key districts—Patna, Kishanganj, Begusarai, Purnia, Araria, and Katihar—will experience a coordinated blackout this Thursday at 7 PM. Blasting sirens will mark the start of a Union Home Ministry-mandated mock drill simulating aerial attacks and blackouts. All vehicular movement will freeze in place. Residents must douse every light source immediately, from street lamps to indoor bulbs, creating total darkness for 15 minutes. The state's Civil Defense Directorate is leading this statewide initiative. Ahead of the event, disaster officials from these districts participated in a virtual tabletop exercise on Wednesday. The session, presided over by top officials including Principal Secretary Santosh Kumar Mall and Director Dr. Paresh Saxena, fine-tuned strategies and protocols. Public appeals are pouring in: Stay calm, switch off all illuminations without exception, and refrain from flashlight or phone use. Patna administration reinforces this by instructing light shutdowns in homes, businesses, and cars. Critical services like hospitals and utilities remain operational. Simulation hubs in Patna—such as the district headquarters, Biscomaun building, bus terminal, and IGIMS—have been designated for enacting attack scenarios. Active control rooms will monitor proceedings. Emphasizing it's a routine civil defense practice to safeguard against air raids, officials dismiss any cause for worry. Citizens are advised to ignore misinformation and actively participate to validate Bihar's disaster response capabilities.