State conducts mega civil defence drill

Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Sumita Misra, monitored the civil defence mock drill held in the state today from the control room set up in Panchkula under ‘Operation Abhyas’.

She also took detailed information regarding phone calls on ‘Dial 112’ and gave necessary instructions to officials.

Stating that the drill was to prepare oneself for an emergency, Misra appealed to people to follow the information given from time to time by district administration officials and be ready to deal with any exigency. She said there was no reason to panic and the situation was peaceful at present.

Talking to the media, she said the mock drill was conducted in the entire state, and the live feed was monitored from the control room. At several places, the drills had been conducted in malls, while at others, the exercise had been conducted in district secretariats.

She said Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had directed that the mock drill carried out today would be conducted regularly on May 7 every year to ensure the ‘3Ps’ — preparation, precaution and no panic.

Misra urged residents to follow the dos and don’ts, as communicated by the district administration.

District-wise measures

As the mock drills were conducted across the state, sirens echoed at exactly 4 pm at the designated places, triggering swift, coordinated drills under the watchful eyes of the district authorities.

Meanwhile, lapses were found during the mock-drill exercise carried out at Rohtak. The Mini-Secretariat building was urgently evacuated as part of the drill. Some sirens and fire extinguishers were found to be non-functional. Gaps were also seen in the positioning of ambulances. It also started raining just before the time fixed for the exercise, which added to the challenges of the rescue workers and volunteers.

Rohtak ADC Narendra Kumar said a report regarding the lacunae would be sent to the state authorities in order to iron out the problems and improve preparedness.

In Karnal, several emergency services, including fire brigades, ambulances, and SDRF units, police and trained volunteers were involved at five major locations — Mini-Secretariat, Old Bus Stand, UHBVN building, government college and the Public Health office near the old vegetable market.

From multi-storey evacuations to emergency hospital transfers, the drill was aimed at mimicking real-life disaster response dynamics. The response time of emergency vehicles, including fire brigade, ambulance, and rescue teams was from 8-10 minutes.

In Kaithal, such drills were carried out at four locations, including the Ambala road slums, Solumajra Silo, the Pundri MC building and the Kangthali power plant. A control room has been set up at room no. 324 of the Mini-Secretariat, reachable via toll-free number 18001801332.

In Sirsa, a mock drill was held at the Mini-Secretariat under ‘Operation Abhyas’ to assess the emergency response. A fire simulation prompted building evacuation and emergency teams rescued six people from smoke-filled areas. Similar drills occurred at sub-divisional levels. A 10-day ban on drones and UAVs was imposed around key locations for security.

In Yamunanagar, mock drills were conducted at several places, including the Mini-Secretariat, and Chhachhrauli, Bilaspur and Radaur.