In an effort to revitalise Civil Defence and bolster disaster preparedness, the Punjab Home Department has launched an online volunteer registration portal and established 22 Combined Control and Report Centres across the province to ensure rapid emergency response.
The announcement came during a visit by Punjab Home Secretary Noorul Amin Mengal to a Civil Defence underground bunker at Nasir Bagh, Lahore on Thursday.
Director Civil Defence Zameer Hussain briefed the secretary on existing safety protocols and operational preparedness.
Highlighting the government's commitment, Mengal urged citizens to actively register through the new portal, noting that the department aims to train one million new volunteers across Punjab.
"We are mobilising all necessary resources to meet this target," he said.
According to the Home Department, Punjab now has 1,113 designated safe shelters with the capacity to accommodate up to 77,000 people in case of emergencies.
The newly operational control centres are intended to streamline real-time communication and enable swift decision-making during crises.
Mengal also stressed the urgent need to modernise Civil Defence infrastructure. "We have allocated Rs500 million for the immediate and transparent procurement of essential equipment and supplies," he said.
He further revealed that Civil Defence, in collaboration with Rescue 1122, has trained over 150,000 citizensincluding a large number of studentswithin the past week through extensive awareness campaigns and disaster response drills.
Despite Civil Defence having become largely inactive over the past decades due to the absence of conflict or urban attacks, the department is now being restructured to serve as a frontline institution for civil emergency response and public safety.
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