States, UTs hunker down for civic defence exercise

Authorities across India geared up to hold the widest set of civil defence drills in the country in nearly half a century on Wednesday as New Delhi firmed up its response to Islamabad in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Officials selected schools, airports, malls, residential buildings and busy public spots to conduct the decentralised drills that will focus on air raid warning sirens, rescue of people, communication systems and training civilians to respond in the event of an attack. The drill will be held across the 244 civil defence districts in the country.

In Delhi, the drill is expected to begin at 4pm with air raid sirens going off at 55 designated locations across the Capital, including Khan Market, Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport, the Saket district court complex and Lajpat Nagar central market. A second round of the drill involving possible power outages is also being planned around 7pm but no final decision has been taken, said officials.

"Delhi is fully prepared for the mock drills. The people of Delhi and the government are with the country, and we are following everything directed by the central government," chief minister Rekha Gupta said.

Other states released staggered schedules for the drills, the largest such exercise to be held since 1971, when India defeated Pakistan in a war that led to the creation of Bangladesh. In Chandigarh, officials said sirens will go off around 7.30pm, followed by a 10-minute power blackout. In Mumbai, sirens are scheduled to blare at 4pm, followed by drills, including how to respond during a war-like situation. In Ahmedabad, the drill is likely to begin at 7.30pm and continue until 8.30pm, said a government press release. And in Mizoram, the drill, including a blackout, might start at 6.30pm.