Mock drill held amid blackout in all 75 UP districts to check emergency preparedness

Power supply to all designated areas was cut and Civil Defence volunteers guided the public to “bomb shelters” and directed them to safe locations, the officials said.

Minutes later, a green alert for the end of “air raids” was issued via siren followed by inspection of the “incident sites and reported damage to the control room”. Also, the Civil Defence volunteers used fire extinguishers and blankets to control “fires” using blankets and buckets.

The Health Department set up medical posts at the “incident sites” with Civil Defence volunteers providing “first aid” to the “injured” and “transporting affected individuals to the medical posts using emergency rescue methods”, it was stated.

Then the SDRF and NDRF personnel arrived at the “incident sites” and set up their posts and rescued individuals “trapped in buildings”.

Also, the NDRF personnel assessed the impact of “chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear hazards”, it was stated.

ADM Revenue, Muzaffarnagar, Rajendra Kumar, said the drill in the district was conducted at local DAV College and power supply to the entire city was disconnected.

A senior Civil Defence Department official said all districts and departments concerned will send reports on the exercise to the government.

After the drill session at Police Lines in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “Today’s mock drill inspires people to be ready for all kinds of situations, good or bad, war or peace. People have accepted the role of Civil Defense as first responders, for calamities or incidents.”

“Dependence on the government for every thing is not the sign of a self-sufficient society. Today’s mock drill has shown that Civil Defence, which has been formed in all 75 districts of UP, is not just restricted to times of peace or festivals but would also be ready to handle any war-like situation forced upon us by the enemy. Such drills should be made a routine practice,” he added.