Civil-defence drill at Surendranagar

rajkot: the surendranagar district administration on tuesday, organised a civil-defence drill, including blackout in the entire district. the lights were shut for 10 minutes from 7 pm to 7.10 pm. district collector v c trivedi said in a statement that the aim was to create a public awareness of the do's and dont's in case of an emergency. the sirens went off at 6.58 and went on for two minutes to warn the people.the people were asked to voluntarily dim the lights in their homes and not to light even candles, cigarettes or even matchsticks. even use of charging lights or battery lights were not allowed, the statement said. vehicle users were asked not to switch on their lead lights and to drive safely to avoid any collision. the statement said that vehicle owners were also asked to drive on the side of the road and if necessary to halt their vehicles till the all clear signal was given. the statement added that the blackout drill was binding on everyone.