MHA conducts key review meeting ahead of massive mock drill, identifies 19 'top priority' sites out of 250 districts

The government has identified over 250 specially designated 'civil defence districts' across the country having sensitive installations like nuclear plants, military bases, refineries and hydroelectric dams, for the nationwide mock drill planned for Wednesday.

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Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Tuesday chaired a key review meeting through video conferencing with chief secretaries of the states and the Union Territories (UTs) to finalise protocols for the massive mock drill conducted amid escalating tensions with Pakistan in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

The meeting was attended by chief secretaries and heads of civil defence from across the states besides officials from key Central forces and agencies including Directors General of Civil Defence and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Officials said during the meeting, the participants identified "loopholes" in the defence mechanism. "We reviewed preparedness. Loopholes have been identified," a senior official of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) told.