THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Smoke started to come out of the bottling plant of the Bharat Petroleum at Kazhakkoottam at 10 am on Friday and, immediately, sirens were blown, throwing the people into panic. Ambulances and fire engines were seen rushing to the bottling plant.
After an hour or so, the people could see that it was part of a mock drill conducted by the State Disaster Management Authority, Petroleum and National Gas Regulatory Board and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries.
The drill was conducted to check the efficacy of the system and preparedness of the personnel in combating emergency situations, especially in handling hazardous chemicals. The drill was also part of the seminar that was held here on tackling disasters in chemical industries.
Disaster Management Consultant B K Khanna and Factories and Boilers inspectors T K Shabujan, Vipin P M and B Siyad led the mock drill. ADM V R Vinodh, Additional DMO Ambili Kamalan and Police and Fire and Rescue officials were also present.