NEW DELHI, 6 May: Close to 300 ‘civil defence districts’ with sensitive installations like nuclear plants, military bases, refineries, and hydroelectric dams will be covered by mock drills on air-raid warning sirens, civilian training for a “hostile attack” and cleaning of bunkers and trenches.
How to conduct the mock exercise with active public participation of people was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. Top civil and police officers of the country participated in the meeting, official sources said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all states to conduct the mock drills due to the “new and complex threats” that have emerged amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
The authorities in all states will involve students of educational institutions, employees of government and private organisations, hospital staff, railway and metro officials, besides uniformed personnel of the police, paramilitary and defence forces, while conducting the mock drills.
The conduct of the exercise is planned up to the village level, and this exercise aims to assess and enhance the readiness of civil defence mechanisms across all states and union territories.
The communication said the active participation of the district controllers, various district authorities, civil-defence wardens, volunteers, home guards (active and reservists volunteers), National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), college and school students is envisaged in the exercise.
“The said civil defence exercise is aimed to assess the operational efficacy and operational coordination of various civil defence measures,” it said.
There have been rising tensions in relations between India and Pakistan after the 22 April terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. (PTI)
