Civil Defence prepares for mock drill in Lucknow following directives from MHA

LUCKNOW: In response to the directives from the home ministry, preparations for a mock drill scheduled for May 7 have commenced at the civil defence control room in Lucknow on Tuesday.

The drill, scheduled for Wednesday, aims to simulate protective measures in case of an air attack or disaster, with special focus on safeguarding citizens.

Amarnath Mishra, Chief Ward of Civil Defence, explained that the team conducted a meeting with all employees to prepare them for the eventuality of an enemy airstrike on the city.

"Today, the Civil Defence held a meeting with all its employees regarding how to protect the citizens if the enemy country launches an air attack in the city at any time... Along with this, everyone was also given guidelines on how to protect the people..."

The session also focused on crowd control during a disaster. "The defence people were also made aware of what the citizens should do during a sudden attack, what precautions they should take so that there is minimum damage, and their responsibilities were explained to them. Everyone was also explained how to control the crowd during a disaster," Mishra said

"While the army is preparing on the border for a possible war with Pakistan, the civil defence volunteers have also become active to protect the citizens in the city from attacks," he added emphasizing the importance of citizen preparedness.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar has instructed the districts in the state to conduct mock drills in coordination with the public to deal with any emergency situation. The district officials have also been instructed to make adequate security arrangements.

"Instructions were received from the government of India regarding the mock drill of civil defence. From there, 19 districts have been identified: one is in the A category, two are in the C category, and all the rest are in the B category. However, keeping in view the sensitivity of the place, instructions have been given by the government that this mock drill should be conducted in all the districts in collaboration with all our verticals - be it police, fire, civil administration or disaster department, so that we can deal with any emergency situation," DGP Kumar told reporters.

The union home ministry has asked several states to conduct mock drills on May 7 for effective civil defence. The measures to be undertaken include operationalization of Air Raid Warning Sirens and training of civilians, students, etc on the civil defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack.

The measures also include the provision of crash blackout measures, provision for early camouflaging of vital installations and updation of the evacuation plan and its rehearsal.