Ahead of mock drill, Pune civil defence authorities start activating mechanisms, begin testing 76 sirens in city

On Monday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asked the states and Union Territories to conduct mock drills on May 7. The directive came amid the heated situation at the Line of Control and tensions escalating over a likely Indian military response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

In Maharashtra, various important cities, including Pune, have offices of deputy controllers of civil defence. Officials from the Pune Deputy Controllerate said from Tuesday morning, they  started testing sirens installed in and around the region. Coordination meetings with stakeholder agencies are also underway.

The mock drills will assess the effectiveness of air raid warning systems, operationalisation of hotline and radio communication links with the Indian Air Force, test the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms, and train civilians and students.

The drills will also ensure provision of crash blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital plants and installations to verify the activation and response of Civil Defence services, including warden services, firefighting, rescue operations, and depot management, to evaluate the preparedness of evacuation plans and their execution, the MHA stated.

An official from the Directorate of Civil Defence of Maharashtra said, “Civil defence is primarily an effort to protect the non-combatant commoner in the scenario of a hostile attack. The idea is based on the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response and emergency evacuation and recovery.”

“Civil Defence establishments have been set up in the states and UTs as per the Civil Defence Act, 1968 and its pertinent rules. The legislation covers mandate of protection of individuals, properties, and establishments against any hostile attacks. Civil defence efforts also include major contributions by citizen volunteers from various fields, who are given basic training and can be of assistance to any government agency that is responding to a situation,” the official added.

The Deputy Controllerate of Civil Defence said that the sirens under their purview are located at 76 locations. There are nine more sirens of some private and government establishments, which can be used by the Civil defence authorities, if needed.

Among the 76 locations where the sirens are located in Pune are several educational institutes, government establishments, business and commercial entities. The list also includes Aga Khan Palace and Mahatma Phule Mandai.

The educational institutes where the sirens are located include Fergusson College, Agriculture College, Symbiosis College on Senapati Bapat Road, College of Engineering Pune and SP College.

Various fire stations, police establishment, Zilla Parishad, Railway Police headquarters, Yerawada Jail and National Chemical Laboratory also have sirens. Private entities, such as  Bharat Forge campus in Mundhwa, Vanaz Ltd, also have sirens.