The civil defence directorate will carry out testing of an air raid siren installed atop the multistorey PWD building in ITO on Friday afternoon, according to an official statement. The testing will commence at 3 pm and will be carried out for a period of 15-20 minutes, it said.

The testing comes amid intensified hostilities between India and Pakistan involving missile attacks and shelling, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that led to the killing of 26 people, mostly tourists.

It added that the general public is required to remain calm and not to panic during the testing exercise.