GUWAHATI, May 6: An extensive mock drill will be carried out across 14 ‘civil defence districts’ of Assam on Wednesday following the directives of the central government, officials said here.
‘Civil defence districts’ are different from administrative districts. 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.
A high-level meeting, chaired by the chief secretary, took place between various agencies and stakeholder departments, a senior official told PTI on Tuesday.
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“The chief secretary reviewed the preparedness of the drill according to the guidelines of the central government. We have issued instructions to 14 districts for carrying out the mock drill as per prescribed steps,” he added.
Though he did not share further details, the official said that the mock drill will start at 4 pm and will continue till all the steps are covered.
“The Assam Police’s Home Guard and Civil Defence wing will lead the operations in association with various other agencies,” he added.
When contacted, Home Guard and Civil Defence Inspector General of Police Arabinda Kalita said agencies like fire services, health department, disaster management, BSNL and DIPR, among others, will take part in the drill.
“We have also informed the Indian Army, and they are also likely to join in the exercise. We will conduct the exercise in Guwahati also,” he added.
In connection with the drill, the Fire & Emergency Services headquarters has issued a communication to all the district centres with specific guidelines.
“In-charges of all F&ES Stations are hereby directed to liaise with the District Controller, various District Authorities, Civil Defence Warden/Volunteers and extend co-operation for smooth conduct of the aforesaid Civil Defence Mock Drill and submit detailed action taken report accordingly,” it added.
The primary objectives of the mock drill have been listed as assessing the effectiveness of air raid warning systems, operationalisation of hotline and 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 a hostile attack, 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 will also be examined during the drill, officials said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has 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.
The authorities in all states have been asked to involve students of educational institutions, employees of government and private organisations, hospital staff, railway and metro officials, besides uniformed personnel of the police, paramilitary and defence forces while conducting the mock drills.
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. (PTI)
