Operation Abhyas: Blackout drill in Amritsar, iconic Golden Temple goes dark – Watch

Amritsar blackout

The Amritsar district administration again carried out a blackout rehearsal in the early hours of Thursday, shortly after lights went out in the city as part of a nationwide civil defence mock drill. The second drill began around 1.30 am.

The district administration, working under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), urged citizens to stay indoors, remain calm, and switch off all external lights during the exercise. This was the second time such a drill was carried out in Amritsar within a few hours, the first taking place between 10.30 pm and 11.00 pm on Wednesday night.

The drill, codenamed 'Operation Abhyas' are part of a longer list of civil defence measures that are being observed in 244 districts across India, including that in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh.

#WATCH | Punjab: Moment of blackout at Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar, as part of the mock drill ordered by the MHA. pic.twitter.com/GTacHYFgZl

ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2025

According to the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) of Amritsar, these rehearsals are crucial for public safety and for ensuring that both citizens and authorities know how to respond in times of crisis.

"Taking utmost caution, the Amritsar district administration has again started the blackout process. Please stay at home, do not panic and do not gather outside your houses; keep the outside lights switched off," news agency ANI quoted the Amritsar DPRO as saying.

Visuals from Amritsar showed the iconic Golden Temple going dark during the drill. Lights were later turned on once the drill concluded. "The first blackout was between 10.30 pm and 11 pm. The directions are that there should not be any lights on so that the enemy may not know there is a city here. The rehearsal is being done for the interest of the country. Some people are following the blackout, and some are not. The siren was activated and then there was a complete blackout within two minutes,” Jagtar Singh, Amritsar police official told ANI.

Similar exercises were held in other states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Bihar. Major cities like Barmer, Gwalior, Surat, Shimla, and Patna participated by turning off lights in key buildings and public spaces. Even in the capital, Delhi, landmarks such as Rashtrapati Bhavan and Vijay Chowk went dark for the drill.

This civil defence drill came just hours after the Indian military launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). These strikes were carried out in retaliation for the Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 26 civilians lost their lives.