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A mock drill as part of the second statewide civic defense exercise, codenamed Operation Shield, was held at Dholewal Military Complex in Punjab’s Ludhiana late Saturday evening. The exercise was aimed at evaluating and ensuring quick access of relief and emergency response teams to military installations during drone attacks, as well as to equip the public with the skills to handle crises effectively. The drill commenced at 8 pm with an alarm, prompting swift coordination among multiple agencies, including the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire brigade, district administration, municipal corporation (MC), police, health department, civil defense, National Cadet Corps (NCC), Nehru Yuva Kendra and others. Organized by the district administration in collaboration with defense authorities, the exercise simulated a real-time emergency response.

  Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann is set to expand his cabinet on Thursday, inducting AAP’s Ludhiana West MLA, Sanjeev Arora. The last cabinet expansion took place in Sep last year. Arora’s induction is likely to involve a reshuffling of portfolios, even though there is no clarity yet on the department to be allocated to him. The induction seems certain as Mann confirmed last week that the party would honour the promise made to the voters of Ludhiana West during campaigning — of making Arora a minister. Arora’s swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Raj Bhawan on Friday afternoon, with governor Gulab Chand Kataria administering the oath. The event was awaiting the governor’s return from Udaipur. The Punjab cabinet could have a maximum of 18 ministers, including the chief minister. Following the Sep 2024 reshuffle, the cabinet strength reached 16 ministers (including the CM), leaving two positions open. As part of the last reshuffle on Sep 23, 2024, four ministers were dropped and five inducted: Hardeep Singh Mundian, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, Ravjot Singh, and Mohinder Bhagat. Earlier, while campaigning for the Ludhiana West bypoll, Kejriwal announced on June 11 that Arora would be made a minister if elected. “With ministerial power and resources, he will transform Ludhiana West,” he had said. Arora, who was a Rajya Sabha member when he contested the bypoll, submitted his resignation to Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, who accepted it. A first-time MP, Arora was elected to Rajya Sabha from Punjab on April 10, 2022, and his tenure was until April 9, 2028. In the run-up to the high-stakes bypoll, Arora had raised issues of the state’s business community with the Punjab govt. Last year, Mann had promised to make Mohinder Bhagat a minister during the Jalandhar West byelection campaign, and Bhagat was later inducted with the charge of defence services welfare, freedom fighters, and horticulture.