New Delhi: The Union home ministry has instructed all states to carry out mock drills in the 244 designated civil defence districts on Wednesday, May 7, due to the emergence of ‘new and complex threats’ in the current geopolitical landscape.
This directive follows a series of high-level discussions led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi regarding India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in 26 fatalities on April 22.
Additionally, the order was issued shortly after Pakistan conducted its second missile test in two days as part of ‘Exercise INDUS,’ amidst escalating tensions with India. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that the successful test launch demonstrated that the country’s defense is robust.
The letter from the Directorate General Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards emphasized the necessity of maintaining optimal civil defense readiness in states and union territories at all times due to the new and complex challenges presented by the current geopolitical situation.
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 exercise is organized to extend down to the village level, with the objective of evaluating and improving the preparedness of civil defense systems throughout all states and Union territories,” the letter stated.
The directive from the home ministry also indicated that the exercise is anticipated to engage district controllers, local officials, civil defense wardens, volunteers, home guards (both active and reserve), members of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), as well as students from colleges and schools.
