Civil Defence mock drill in 18 districts of Gujarat today. Here is a step-by-step guide

Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghvi, said the mock drills will be held in a total of 18 districts, including Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Bharuch (Ankleshwar), Tapi (Kakrapar), Surat, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka (Okha, Vadinar), Kutch-East (Gandhidham), Kutch-West (Bhuj, Naliya) and Patan, Banaskantha, Gir Somnath, Mehsana, Navsari, Narmada, Dang and Morbi.

While giving details of the step-by-step process for the mock drill, Singhvi said, “According to the general principles of Civil Defence, there are a total of 12 different types of services, which include trained wardens/volunteers of Civil Defence, that will actively participate in such a situation.” He also listed a step-by-step process that will be followed during the exercise (see box).

The ministers also shared with the media what common citizens would be expected to do during the mock drills.

Different districts of the state will see blackouts for half an hour between 7.30pm to 8.30pm at different intervals. During this time, residents have been advised to switch off or cover all the lights in homes, offices and vehicles.

Civil Defence in India

In a statement Tuesday, the state government said that, after the Chinese invasion in 1962, India started the Civil Defence system in 1963. The main objective was to protect the lives and property of the people during the war, to maintain the morale of the citizens on the home front, to protect the people from rumours and to see that the process of industrial production and supplies continue. Over time, the scope of Civil Defence activities has been expanded.

In times of peace, during natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, storms and man-made (unnatural) disasters such as communal riots, major fires and accidents, officers/employees of the Civil Defence system besides its honorary officers and volunteers are present on the spot and perform their public service duties.