'Operation Abhyaas': Congress minister tells public why mock drills matter as 'shadow of war' looms

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said Bengaluru has been on the terror radar for a long and has even neutralised sleeper cells. The security drill in the aftermath of the  Pahalgam terror attack is crucial to prepare not just our civil defence forces but also to sensitise the civilians. 

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The minister was referring to the past terror attacks in the IT city -- IISc attack (2005), Chinnaswamy Stadium blast (2008), Malleswaram bomb blast near BJP head office (2013), Church Street blast (2014) and Rameshwaram cafe incident (2024) -- while stressing the need to prepare for the new challenges as the "shadow of war" was looming over the country. 

 

The Home Minister, who addressed the gathering at the "Operation Abhyaas" (mock drill) held in Bengaluru, said Karnataka is the second highest contributor of GST and Bengaluru is one of the three civil defence towns in the state identified by the Centre for the mock drill. 

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"The Centre has identified 244 districts with critical installations for the drill and three are in Karnataka. Bengaluru houses defence establishments and is the IT hub of the country. Karwar with the Naval base and Raichur with its thermal power plants are vulnerable cities," said Parameshwara, stressing the need for conducting the drills in educational institutions. 

 

"The shadow of war is looming over us and we don't know when and where the enemies will strike. So, we need to prepare the civilians for exigencies," said Parameshwara, adding that there was a need for the forces to train better and focus on swifter evacuation and rescue. 

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Prashant Kumar Thakur, DGP (Fire & Emergency Service and Civil Defence, Karnataka informed that a mock drill would soon be held at Chinnaswamy Stadium as it is one of the vulnerable spots. 

 

"At any given time, the stadium has a crowd of 40,000 (during the cricket matches). It makes sense to have a drill to ensure safe evacuation and rescue," said Thakur adding schools and colleges and the resident welfare association would be involved in creating awareness.

India