States all set to conduct mock drills
On Wednesday early morning, Indian armed forces hit nine terror infrastructure targets in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) under 'Operation Sindoor', announced the Ministry of Defence. Three civilians were killed and at least seven others were injured as Pakistan resorted to firing and shelling along the Line of Control.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army continued to violate the ceasefire for the 12th consecutive night by resorting to unprovoked small arms firing along the Line of Control in Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajouri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani and Akhnoor districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army responded in a proportionate manner, a statement said.
Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Tuesday reviewed the preparations done by States to test civil defence preparedness in the wake of a 'hostile' situation.
States have been asked to submit a report to the MHA after the drills are completed and the identified security gaps will be plugged accordingly, a senior government official said.
While the Directorate General, Civil Defence has identified 244 districts in categories I, II and III for the conduct of drills up to the village level based on an assessment done in 2005 and 2010, States have been asked to add to the 'vulnerable areas' list based on their own assessment. An area is designated as civil defence district if there are vital installations such as refinery or a nuclear plant or a cantonment in its geographical limits.
The drill will test the efficacy of the operationalisation of air-raid warning signs, crash blackout measures, camouflaging vital installations, evacuation plans, establishing hotline with the Indian Air Force, activating control rooms, firefighting and warden services and undertake cleaning of bunkers and trenches among others.
The Anantnag police in South Kashmir issued a public advisory that a mock drill will be conducted at 4 p.m. on Wednesday by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). 'As part of the drill, sirens will be activated at various locations in Kashmir. This is a practice exercise to test our emergency response systems,' the police said.In Delhi, the mock exercise will be conducted at 55 locations from 4-6 p.m. The locations include residential buildings, government offices, markets and colleges.
The Delhi Police beefed up security in the national Capital ahead of the scheduled mock drills with increased number of officials being deployed at tourist spots such as Connaught Place, India Gate, Janpath, Gole Market, Jama Masjid, Red Fort. Further, the police headquarters has now been equipped with the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) to transmit clear messages beyond a kilometre in case of an emergency, an official told The Hindu.
The South Central Railway said volunteers, instructors and associated personnel would 'simulate a hostile attack scenario to evaluate emergency preparedness and inter-agency coordination' at Kacheguda (Hyderabad division), Raichur (Guntakal Division) and Aurangabad (Nanded Division) on May 7.
In Maharashtra, the drill will be conducted at more than a dozen locations, including Mumbai at 4 p.m.The drill will be initiated through an 'air-raid' warning that will be passed on through the civil defence channels by the Air Force followed by a mock exercise through simulation of fire incident in a building.
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