Nationwide mock drills slated for 4 pm to test readiness; more exercises soon-OxBig News Network

The nationwide mock drills will begin around 4 pm on Wednesday. The states will, however, have the freedom to start the exercise as per their convenience since “it is aimed at self-learning”, highly placed sources said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)-administered mock drills will be conducted in 244 vulnerable or civil defence districts, including those situated in border states such as Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat as well as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Officially, the mock drills will begin around 4 pm. However, for how long these need to be conducted and at what time these should begin will depend entirely on the local administration of a particular district, a top source informed The Tribune.

The aim behind the entire exercise is to check whether the paraphernalia or infrastructure related to dealing with situations like an armed conflict or a natural disaster is in the working mode or not.

“Depending on the feedback of the May 7 mock drills, the drawbacks in the system will be addressed and more such drills will be undertaken in the near future… It will be a continuous process,” the source said.

During a meeting held by Home Secretary Govind Mohan with the chief secretaries of states to supervise the preparations for Wednesday’s mock drills, it was discussed that districts which are vulnerable but not included in the list of 244 civil defence districts can be included in the mock drills and later notified by the MHA.

Sources privy to the developments told this newspaper that it was discussed at the meeting that the May 7 exercise was basically being conducted to assess whether the communication systems were effective or not, the siren systems were in working conditions or needed upgrade, and in case of border areas, whether the trenches were in a habitable condition or required rebuilding, along with suitable provisions of food and water.

Also, in case there are casualties, the evacuation system will be tested and if hospitals are overwhelmed, temporary hospitals will need to be set up, while the functioning of civil defence control rooms will also be checked during the exercise, the sources said.

There are 12 services enlisted under the ambit of civil defence and the meeting also discussed whether any vacancies needed to be filled within the permanent posts.

Since the mock drills will also be conducted at the village level, it will also be seen whether sarpanches and other resourceful persons like doctors, who will be included as wardens for the exercise, are enough in numbers or not.

The aim behind the exercise is to identify the deficiencies and try and fill the gaps after giving the required feedback to the MHA, the sources told this newspaper.

On May 5, the MHA had announced that nationwide mock drills be undertaken on May 7, and in a letter to states, the Home Secretary had said the aim behind the exercise was to assess the operational efficacy and operational coordination of various civil defence measures.

The move comes at a time when the India-Pakistan relations have nosedived in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22 and speculations of an armed stand-off are doing the rounds.