Latest news with #OperationExercise
Hindustan Times
08-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Swift and ready: Mumbai clears mock drill in 3 minutes
MUMBAI: A fire in a building caused by an 'air strike' at Cross Maidan in South Mumbai saw civil defence volunteers, including NCC cadets, NDRF and NSS cadets converging at the site, cordoning off the area and evacuating people. Fire tenders and ambulances, sirens blazing, arrived in minutes. With speed and precision, fire fighters 'rescued' an individual 'stranded' on the fifth floor of the burning building. Mumbai, India - May 7, 2025: Civil Defence Services, NDRF and Mumbai Fire Brigade personnel take part in Mock Drill as per MHA guidelines at CIvil defence ground, Marine Lines in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times) Conducted at 4pm, this mock drill was part of Operation Abhyas (Operation Exercise), a nation-wide exercise to assess citizens' preparedness in the event of a war or war-like situation. Mock drills have been ordered across the country by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in light of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Similar drills were last conducted 54 years ago, during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. On Wednesday, Mumbai was put to the test, with a mix of air-raid sirens, evacuation simulations, injury response exercises and blackouts. These will continue for the next five days, said Maharashtra's director of civil defence, Prabhat Kumar. 'We tracked everyone's response time, and it was satisfactory as per the situation. The average time was around three minutes, but this was a planned drill and not a spontaneous one,' added Kumar. 'The rain felt like a natural hurdle, which only made the drill better as it would prepare everyone for real-life situations.' Unlike soldiers who are trained in active combat, he added, these exercises are meant to empower and train citizens to tackle emergency situations or any man-made emergency to minimise the loss of lives. At Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), commuters were shown how to quickly drop to the ground and lie down, to minimise the risk to themselves. The drill, which took place at around 3pm, saw 30 personnel from the Civil Defence Organisation of the Central Railway take part, accompanied by air-raid sirens. They demonstrated how civilians should respond, as a precautionary measure. An 'injured' person was lifted and transported sans a stretcher. A few feet away, another 'emergency' scenario was unfolding. Trained personnel demonstrated how to manage severe blood loss and other life-saving techniques to minimise haemorrhaging. Volunteers also showed civilians what to do in a fire emergency, when no fire extinguisher is present. They also demonstrated how to operate a fire extinguisher, so that everyone from railway staff to passengers would know how to use them, if the need arose. K K Mishra, Deputy General Manager of the Central Railway, and Dr Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer, were present to oversee the proceedings. Similar drills were conducted at other important railway stations and workshops on the Central Railway network, including Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Dadar, Matunga, Manmad, and other key locations. At Bandra Railway Colony, around 150 residents assembled outside their buildings to the sound of a siren at 11am. Four buildings were evacuated, with residents briefed by civil defence volunteers regarding precautions to be taken during an air strike, steps to protect oneself and family, along with a live demonstration on how to take cover during bombings. Around 650 railway staff at the Lower Parel workshop were instructed on how to tend to the injured and shift them to safer places. Further away, at Kalyan, a large-scale mock drill was conducted at Maxxi Ground under the guidance of the Thane District Collector and Civil Defence Controller, Ashok Shingare, at 4pm. The simulated event was an air strike on Jai Ganesh Society, resulting in 14 'injuries' and one 'fatality'. Four sirens sounded simultaneously across Kalyan and surrounding areas, simulating an air/bomb attack. Citizens were swiftly directed to safe zones, and 'rescue operations' commenced, including search missions, evacuation of injured and trapped civilians, and the provision of first aid. A total of 26 agencies participated in this massive exercise, including Civil Defence, revenue and police departments, Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation, Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF), Fire Brigade, Home Guards, and national Service Scheme. More than 100 police officers, 15 TDRF personnel, 25 disaster volunteers, and 14 NCC cadets were involved. Bringing Operation Abhyas to a close on Wednesday was a blackout at 8pm in Anushakti Nagar in Govandi and the Atomic Colony in Tarapur.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Mock drill conducted as part of 'Operation Abhyas' in Bengaluru
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Authorities on Wednesday carried out a large-scale civil defence mock drill at various locations in the city under ' Operation Abhyas ' (Operation Exercise) in line with the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The drill was part of a nationwide preparedness exercise ordered by the to officials, soon after the siren blew at 3.48 pm at various locations, civil defence personnel, police, fire and emergency services swung into drill included rescue operations in the event of fire, removing people from beneath debris, evacuating people from high-rises, and providing medical emergency drill went on for about half an per the direction of the MHA to conduct a Civil Defence Exercise called "Operation Abhyas," the first mock drill was conducted at the premises of the Director General, Civil Defence at 4 exercises were conducted in parts of Karnataka, including was no citywide blackout mock drill in Bengaluru. Officials said the demonstrations were restricted to the Fire and Emergency Services campus in Halasuru, where it was held from 6.40 pm to 7 to a statement from Home Minister G Parameshwara 's office, the mock operation and awareness exercise was organised by the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services Department under the direction of the Central Defence department and the Home department. It was held in Halasuru."Various types of mock demonstrations were held, including creating a fictitious emergency and rescuing citizens, extinguishing fires, and providing first aid to the injured," the statement further said that the Fire and Emergency Services personnel demonstrated the precautions that citizens should take immediately after the siren sounds, including rescuing people trapped in buildings using a well-equipped aerial ladder speaking to reporters, Parameshwara said that everyone is aware of the prevailing situation in the the events of 1972, the Minister said, "We can recall the incidents that took place in the country then. We are facing a similar situation now. The recent incident in Kashmir has hurt every Indian. Twenty-six people were attacked indiscriminately. It hurts to remember the killing of innocent people and children."Parameshwara noted that soldiers guarding the border have endured all this, and said the defence forces carried out attacks on nine terrorist bases in Pakistan at around 1 am."However, somewhere, the shadow of war has covered the entire country. There is a shadow of war hovering over India and Pakistan. We all need to prepare for this," he said that the central government has already instructed all states to create awareness among the public-how to protect themselves, what their responsibilities are, and how to maintain peace in such a chaotic situation.
