Mock drills in J&K, Rajasthan, Gujarat on May 31

After being abruptly postponed at the last moment, the mock drills which were scheduled to be held on May 29, will now take place on May 31 in the states bordering the Western front, except Punjab, sources aware of the developments said. The second round of mock drills has been named ‘Operation Shield’.

Punjab will conduct the mock drill on June 3, while on May 31, these will be held in J&K and Rajasthan and Gujarat. The exercise will be undertaken after 4 pm in these states and union territory.

Meanwhile, sources said the reason behind holding the mock drills in the states sharing their western frontiers with Pakistan is to check the preparedness of the civil defence infrastructure there in case of a war-like situation or a natural disaster.

These drills will basically test various aspects which were found severely lacking during the May 7 exercise.

During the May 7 mock drills conducted across the country (and which coincided with the Operation Sindoor offensive, which was launched the same day), serious lacunae were discovered in the civil defence infrastructure.