Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Aurangabad Among 244 Locations For Civil Defence Mock Drill On May 7

The Union Home Ministry has decided to organise a Civil Defence Exercise and Rehearsal across 244 categorised districts on Wednesday (May 7). This comes in the wake of "new and complex threats" that have emerged in the “current geo-political scenario."

This order came after a series of high-level meetings led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to discuss India's retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed on April 22.

According to the Home Ministry communication, the measures to be taken during the mock drills include the operationalisation of air-raid warning sirens, training civilians on civil defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of a "hostile attack," and cleaning bunkers and trenches.

Other measures include provisions for crash-blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital plants and installations, and updating and rehearsing evacuation plans, a letter to the chief secretaries of all states and administrators of Union Territories said.

The mock drills also involve the operationalisation of hotline and radio-communication links with the Indian Air Force (IAF), and testing the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms.

Meanwhile, among the list of 244 places where the mock drills will take place are Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Thane and several other locations in Maharashtra.

"The conduct of the exercise is planned up to the village level. This exercise aims to assess and enhance the readiness of civil defence mechanisms across all states and UTs," the letter said.

It also stated that the active participation of district controllers, various district authorities, civil-defence wardens, volunteers, home guards (active and reservist volunteers), National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), and college and school students is envisaged in the exercise.

The last time such a nationwide civil defence exercise was held was during the lead-up to the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

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