Shillong’s siren: 60 years of warning

By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 18: The air raid precaution (ARP) siren that the people of Shillong and its outskirts have become accustomed to has completed a tad more than 60 years.
The siren is tested every morning and evening and once a year to welcome the dawn of a New Year. It has been used for other major occasions and emergencies too.
Installed in the early 1960s, the siren is managed by the Civil Defence and Home Guards Department.
“The main objective of the ARP siren is to warn the civilians about an incoming air raid by enemy aircraft,” PH Shylla, the divisional commandant of Home Guards, Shillong said.
“The siren alerts the civilians and the district administration to implement civil defence measures such as blackout and evacuation to air raid shelters in time,” he said.
The siren is used during peacetime to signal the commencement and conclusion of the observation of silence on Martyrs’ Day. Months ago, it was used to pay tribute to the COVID warriors during the pandemic.
The siren is operated by an electrical switch housed in the Regional Civil Defence Control Centre behind the U Soso Tham Auditorium in the state capital.  Shylla said the siren is very relevant in modern times.
“Judging by how conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas hostility are fought today, the siren provides a window of opportunity to save lives and reduce the impact of air bombing,” he said.
He said the siren is tested daily during working days at 10 am and 5 pm – 4.30 pm during the winter.
“It can be used to warn people about natural disasters too,” Shylla said.
“A war is also a disaster, albeit a man-made one, owing to the large-scale destruction and loss of human lives it causes. An air raid siren helps in mitigating the effects of war,” he added.