GUWAHATI, May 7: A civil defence mock drill was carried 18 places across 14 ‘civil defence districts’ of Assam on Wednesday as a preparedness for any air attack following the Pahalgam terror strike, a senior official said.
The drill began at 4 pm and completed within half an hour, Home Guard and Civil Defence Inspector General of Police Arabinda Kalita told PTI.
“The entire exercise was completed successfully, and we could test all our capabilities in case of any air attack by enemy forces. Different time-bound parameters were monitored and recorded for future reference,” he said.
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The mock drill was conducted at 18 spots in 14 ‘civil defence districts’ of the state, Kalita said.
The ‘civil defence districts’ are different from the normal administrative district. A geographical area having a cantonment or a refinery or a nuclear plant may be designated as a ‘civil defence district’ depending on the requirement and exigency.
The Assam Police’s Home Guard and Civil Defence wing led the drill in association with various other agencies like fire services, health department, disaster management, BSNL and DIPR, among others.
In connection with the drill, the Fire & Emergency Services headquarters had issued a communication to all the district centres with specific guidelines.
The primary objectives of the mock drill were listed as assessing the effectiveness of air raid warning systems, operationalisation of hotline/radio communication links with the Indian Air Force, and testing the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms.
Training of civilians in the event of hostile attacks, provision of crash blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital installations, verifying the response of civil defence services, evaluating preparedness of evacuation plans and their execution were also noted to be examined during the drill.
Close to 300 ‘civil defence districts’ across the country with sensitive installations like nuclear plants, military bases, refineries and hydroelectric dams were covered by mock drills on air-raid warning sirens, civilian training for a “hostile attack” and cleaning of bunkers and trenches.
The Ministry of Home Affairs asked all states to conduct the mock drills due to the “new and complex threats” that have emerged amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
There have been rising tensions in relations between India and Pakistan after the April 22 terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
In retaliation, Indian armed forces on early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. (PTI)
