BHUBANESWAR: Amid growing tension between India and Pakistan over Pahalgam terror attack, the state government is set to conduct a full-scale civil defence mock drill across 12 districts from Wednesday as part of a nationwide exercise to boost civilian preparedness against air strike or similar hostile incidents.
Officials said the seven-day-long exercise simulating wartime civilian preparedness will be conducted in Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Kendrapara, Koraput, Puri, Sambalpur and Sundargarh.
“As India gears up to counter terrorism and teach a strong lesson to Pakistan, the exercise will prepare our people for wartime emergencies and train them to deal with all kinds of situations,” said Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari.
Acting on the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the state Home department on Tuesday convened a meeting with the officials of fire services, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) and other stakeholders for conduct of the mock drill.
Fire Services DG Sudhansu Sarangi said as per the directions of MHA, the nationwide mock drill will be conducted by all states including Odisha at 4 pm on Wednesday. The exercise will be held in a selected number of urban areas of the 12 districts on the first day. The OSDMA will conduct the drill in its transit shelters in the coastal areas. The district collectors will coordinate the drills in their jurisdictions, Sarangi said.
During the exercise, air raid sirens will be activated for nearly five minutes and people will be asked to take shelter under concrete roof. A second siren will blare after a gap of 15-20 minutes signalling that the threat is over and people can move out. The exercise will also include rescue, relief and fire fighting drills and involve NCC cadets as well as youth volunteer groups.
“The main objective of the exercise is to sensitise civilians about air strike or similar attacks through sirens and prepare them to respond appropriately to such emergencies,” Sarangi said.
OSDMA executive director Kamal Lochan Mishra said the state emergency operation centre and the district emergency operation centres will actively coordinate the drill at cyclone shelters. Around 4,000 Apada Mitras and trained volunteers for disaster response will be part of the exercise. Urging people not to panic, Mishra said no emergency services will be affected during the half-an-hour-long drill.
Officials said the mock drill, a part of the larger exercise involving 244 districts across India, will help in reviving the civil defence organisation in the state. The last such civil defence drill had been conducted in the state way back in 1971.