Delhi govt likely to hold meeting on Tuesday to finalise mock drill preparations

Delhi: In response to a directive from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Delhi government is expected to convene an inter-departmental meeting on Tuesday to finalise preparations for mock drills scheduled for May 7.

The MHA has instructed all states to carry out these drills amid heightened security concerns following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists.

According to official sources, the meeting, likely to be held on May 6, will involve key departments including the police, fire services, and civil defence.

The mock drills will focus on a range of civil defence measures, including the activation of air raid warning sirens, public training on emergency protocols, crash blackouts, camouflage of critical infrastructure, and rehearsals of evacuation plans.

The mock drills also include the operationalisation of hotline and radio-communication links with the Indian Air Force (IAF), testing the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms.

“In the current geo-political scenario, new and complex threats/challenges have emerged, hence, it would be prudent that optimum civil defence preparedness in the states/UTs is maintained at all times,” the letter from the Directorate General Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards to the states and UTs said.

It said the government has decided to organise a civil defence exercise and rehearsal across the 244 categorised civil defence districts in the country on May 7.

“The conduct of the exercise is planned up to the village level. This exercise aims to assess and enhance the readiness of civil defence mechanisms across all states and Union territories,” the letter said.

It 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.

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The move comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues high-level consultations with top defence officials to evaluate India’s response options. In a recent statement, Modi vowed to bring the perpetrators of the April 22 attack to justice, promising retribution “beyond their imagination”.

(With inputs from PTI)