As tensions escalate between India and Pakistan, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered to conduct mock drills at 244 districts across the country, “effective civil defence on May 7". The central government announced a nationwide civic defence mock drill to take place tomorrow, Wednesday, in states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.
The development came as security has been tightened in the country following the April 22 terror attack in which 26 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
“We are reviewing preparedness. Loop holes to be rectified have been identified," a member of the National Disaster Management Authority was quoted as saying, after the MHA meeting.
According to the directive of the Home Ministry, the May 7 drill will focus on several key activities aimed at enhancing civil defence readiness across urban and rural areas.
Centre has asked all states to conduct mock drills across the 244 civil defence districts in view of “new and complex threats" that have emerged in the “current geo-political scenario".
Border states such as Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are among those were the security drill will take place.
One of the key components of the drill would be to conduct checks on the air raid warning system.
“It is the first step that warns civilians in an emergency situation. The Air Force sounds the alert and each district must ensure that its air raid warning sirens are functioning properly," a civil defence official told media.
Blackouts will also be practised during the May 7 mock drills.
The order came amid 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.
