Civil defence mock drills conducted in five Jharkhand districts

Ranchi, May 7 (PTI) Mock drills were conducted in five districts of Jharkhand on Wednesday, coinciding with India’s military strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), an official said.

The three-hour-long drills were conducted in five districts — Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Godda and Sahibganj — in coordination with civil defence organisations, the official added.

The drills were carried out following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which had asked states to conduct such exercises in light of "new and complex threats" emerging after the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians.

The exercise was part of a nationwide civil defence mock drill 'Operation Abhyaas', simulating multiple hostile scenarios like air raids, fire emergencies, and search and rescue operations.

In Ranchi, the exercise was held in Doranda, under drizzling weather conditions, and it concluded at 7 PM.

Traffic routes were diverted to facilitate the simulation. A scheduled blackout was also observed in the area.

An emergency scenario was staged, involving coordinated responses from civil defence teams, police, fire services and medical personnel.

Local residents were informed about the nature of the drill to avoid panic.

"To enhance public safety and emergency preparedness, civil defence exercise (mock drill) was conducted in Ranchi today. These exercises are important to prepare citizens, institutions and infrastructure for potential emergencies, such as hostile attacks or natural disasters," Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri said.

Jharkhand Police spokesperson and IG (Operations) Amol V Homkar said the main objective of such an exercise was to enhance coordination among various agencies, reduce disaster-response time, make it effective and create awareness among people.

An administrative official said various activities such as danger warnings through sirens, blackouts, keeping major infrastructure safe and evacuation of injured in case of an accident were performed as part of the mock drill.

East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Ananya Mittal said mock drills were conducted in factories, companies, schools and others as part of the preparedness for any emergency situation.

In retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes early Wednesday on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.

The military strikes were carried out under 'Operation Sindoor', two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. PTI SAN BDC SAN MNB