Fire extinguishers, sirens found dysfunctional in Rohtak

Several fire extinguishers and sirens were found to be dysfunctional during the mock drill exercise carried out at Rohtak Mini-Secretariat on Wednesday. Some mismanagement was also seen in the conduct of the exercise.

The Mini-Secretariat building was urgently evacuated as part of the mock drill. Red Cross and NCC volunteers escorted the persons supposed to be injured during the process.

Arrangements for providing first-aid and CPR had been made on the premises, while ambulances had been arranged for those supposed to be requiring hospitalisation.

The exercise started as sirens were sounded at 4 pm and went on for nearly half-an-hour. It started raining just before the scheduled time of the drill, which added to the challenge of the workers and volunteers engaged in the rescue operation.

“It was a good learning experience for everyone and we got to know about the shortcomings as well. A report will be sent to the the state authorities to iron out the difficulties and improve our preparedness,” Rohtak ADC Narendra Kumar said while talking to The Tribune immediately after the exercise.

He said two teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were kept on standby.

Questioned whether any medical/emergency case was reported during the drill, Rohtak Civil surgeon maintained that the provision of first-aid and CPR and use of ambulances to rush some persons to hospitals were part of the mock-drill and nobody was actually hurt or injured during the exercise.

Apart from the local Mini-Secretariat, mock drill exercises were also carried out at several other places in Rohtak district, including Meham and Sampla. Meham SDM Dalbir Phogat, Sampla SDM Utsav Anand and other local administrative and police officials managed the conduct of the operations.

The residents evinced a keen interest in the exercise in view of the prevailing situation. “We should be well-prepared to save ourselves and help others in the given circumstances. Such mock drill exercises provide a good opportunity for practical learning and should be taken seriously to know about the dos and don’ts in the event of an emergency,” said Deepti Tayal, a Rohtak-based entrepreneur.

Haryana Tribune