The Union home ministry has asked all states to conduct mock drills across the 244 categorised civil defence districts on Wednesday, May 7, in view of “new and complex threats” that have emerged in the “current geo-political scenario”.
The order came after a series of high-level meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to discuss India’s retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people on April 22.
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The order also came hours after Pakistan conducted its second missile firing test in two days under “Exercise INDUS” amid rising tensions with India. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the successful test launch “made it clear that Pakistan’s defence is in strong hands.”
“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 said.
What is in the order?
According to the MHA, the primary objectives of the mock drill are as follows:
• To assess the effectiveness of air raid warning systems.
• Operationalisation of Hotline/Radio Communication Links with the Indian Air Force.
• To test the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms.
• Training civilians, students, etc., on civil defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack.
• Provision of crash blackout measures.
• Provision for early camouflaging of vital plants/installations.
• To verify the activation and response of Civil Defence services, including warden services, firefighting, rescue operations, and depot management.
• To assess the implementation of crash blackout measures.
• To evaluate the preparedness of evacuation plans and their execution.
“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.
The home ministry’s order also said the exercise is expected to involve the active participation of district controllers, local authorities, civil defence wardens, volunteers, home guards (both active and reserve), members of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), and college and school students.