Karnataka to hold mock drills today but no effect likely on civilian life. Here’s why
Sirens, evacuation and hospital mobilisation are part of the mock drills planned in Bengaluru in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
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The drill will be carried out in other parts of the state over the next week, the officer said.
In compliance with Home Ministry’s directive, Karnataka will on Wednesday hold mock drills in Bengaluru city, Raichur and Karwar. After the terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, the MHA ordered mock drills at 244 locations across the country on May 7. The mock drills on Wednesday will not affect the routine of civilians in Karnataka, a senior police official said, adding that they would be held in the office of the Directorate General Fire Services and the civil defence quarters at 4 pm.
The drill will be carried out in other parts of the state over the next week, the officer said.
Prashanth Kumar Thakur, director general, Fire and Emergency Service and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), has directed districts concerned in the state to undertake the drills as part of ‘Operation Abhyaas’.
Thakur, who is also the Director General of Police and Commandant General Home Guards; and Director of Civil Defence, said the excercise will include activating sirens, blackout measures, search and rescue operations, setting up temporary hospital services and evacuation of civilians from endangered areas to bunkers in demilitarised zones.
“There are 35 air raid sirens installed at various police and fire stations across Bengaluru, of which 32 are currently operational,” said DGP Thakur. He added that upcoming mock drills will also focus on hospital mobilisation and relief and rescue measures in cases of emergency.
The air raid sirens, each with a range of about 3 km, are designed to alert civilians in case of an impending aerial attack. “When the sirens sound—typically for two to three minutes—it signals that civilians should immediately seek shelter in concrete structures or designated bunkers,” a senior Karnataka police officer said.
Thakur noted that Bengaluru has around 5,000 civil defence personnel, including doctors, students, and cadets from the National Cadet Corps (NCC). “These civil defence personnel have already undergone training and will be reactivated, sensitised, and strategically deployed across the city,” he said.
Briefings will begin on May 7 to prepare them for the drills, ensuring a coordinated response during the mock exercises.
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