Mock drill, blackout observed in 18 districts in Gujarat; over 500 take part
A civil defence mock drill, following directions from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), was on Wednesday held in 18 districts of Gujarat — a state, which shares both a land as well as a sea border with Pakistan. The MHA directive was issued in the aftermath of a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives on April 22.
Hours ahead of the mock drill, the Indian armed forces carried out an air strike, dubbed 'Operation Sindoor', on terrorist camps in Pakistan, heightening tensions between both countries.
In Ahmedabad, the mock drill was conducted in nine places — including Dhandhuka Municipality, Viramgam Tank Farm of the Salaya-Mathura Pipeline System (SMPL) of Indian Oil, Pirana Sub Station Power Grid, the industrial complex at Vatva GIDC, Gallops Industrial Park on the outskirts of the city, Ganeshpura (Koth) Temple, Torrent Power Plant at Sabarmati, Tata Plant at Sanand GIDC, and Palladium Mall in Thaltej.
According to officials involved in the mock drill, 'Operation Abhyas', at Palladium Mall, citizens were made aware about civil defence. After the air raid siren was rung, the fire department team sprayed water on the building, and the 'mock fire' was extinguished immediately. Everyone was shifted to a safe place i.e. the basement of the mall by rescue and police personnel.
People identified as 'injured' were immediately shifted to hospital.
More than 500 people participated in the mock drill, including 50 personnel and officers each from the Ahmedabad Fire Department and Ahmedabad city police department, six from the state Health Department, six from the AMC, eight from Revenue Department, 10 from Ambulance services, 20 from civil defence services, one each from RTO and GSRTC, seven from Roads and Buildings Department, and staffers from various business establishments of the mall.
In Kutch, a senior police officer said that the mock drill was conducted at vital installations, including Kandla and Mundra Ports. A statement by the Kutch collectorate said, 'Citizens were given an understanding of self-defence in case of an air strike warning, first aid and evacuation of air strike casualties, treatment of civilians injured in bomb blasts, prompt action in fire incidents and protection against chemical accidents.'
Airstrike mock drills took place at the Reliance Refinery and Sikka Thermal Power Stations in Jamnagar city.
While the mock drills were conducted after 4 pm, blackouts were carried out between 7.30 pm and 9 pm across the state in three tranches. A senior official in Ahmedabad said that blackouts windows were different for differnt parts of the state in order to lessen the load on the power grid.
Meanwhile, in an order on Wednesday evening, Gagandeep Gambhir, IG, Police Administration, issued an order, cancelling the leaves of all police officers, and asked those already on leave to return to duty.
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