GUWAHATIL: Assam joins the national civil defence preparedness effort today, May 7, as 15 civil defence districts have been appointed to perform a massive mock drill.
The districts are:
1. Kamrup (M)
2. Tinsukia
3. Dibrugarh
4. Sivasagar
5. Jorhat
6. Sonitpur
7. Lakhimpur
8. Goalpara
9. Dhubri
10. Bongaigaon
11. Darrang
12. Golaghat
13. Kokrajhar
14. Karbi-Anglong
15. Kamrup
Conducted under the Ministry of Home Affairs' directive, the drill is one among many across the nation to check emergency preparedness following increased security issues in the wake of the fatal terrorist strike at Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, on April 22.
In contrast to routine administrative areas, civil defence areas are areas that are strategically critical and could have vital infrastructure such as refineries, cantonments, or nuclear plants. These areas are determined according to their vulnerability and significance in the context of national security and disaster management.
A senior government official told PTI that Chief Secretary Ravi Kota chaired a high-level meeting to ensure inter-agency coordination for the mock drill. The meeting involved stakeholder departments and agencies responsible for implementing the exercise according to central guidelines. “We have issued instructions to 14 districts for carrying out the mock drill as per the prescribed steps,” the official said.
The mock drill will start at 4 PM and will be carried out until all the stages mentioned are over. The operations will be led by the Home Guard and Civil Defence wing of the Assam Police, assisted by several support agencies.
Inspector General of Police (Home Guard and Civil Defence) Arabinda Kalita stated that a broad spectrum of departments—such as fire services, health, disaster management, BSNL, and DIPR—will take part in the drill. He also added that the Indian Army has been notified and is expected to join the drill, which will be conducted in Guwahati as well, the capital of the state.
Ahead of the exercise, the Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) headquarters have issued instructions to all district centres, requesting coordination with civil defence volunteers and local authorities. "All F&ES Station In-charges are hereby instructed to coordinate with the District Controller, Civil Defence Wardens, and other district authorities so that the drill is conducted without any hitch," the order stated.
The major aims of the mock drill are to judge the performance of air raid warning systems, set up a hotline and radio contact with the Indian Air Force, and check the preparedness of control rooms and shadow control arrangements. The drill will also check the preparedness for evacuation strategies, blackout procedures, camouflage of important installations, and civil defence reaction alertness.
Officials made it clear that civilians will be the key players in the drill. Training and sensitization sessions will be held to mimic hostile attack scenarios. Students, hospital workers, government and private institution employees, and railway and metro staff have all been asked to participate in different ways.
This simulation drill program comes in response to a Ministry of Home Affairs directive that referred to "new and complex threats" as the reason for the countrywide readiness program. India-P building tensions have increased over the past few weeks, especially following the Pahalgam attack in which 26 people lost their lives, with the majority of them being tourists. The government at the center has reaffirmed its focus on national security and civil safety through offensive and coordinated defense strategies.
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