Civil Defence Exercise to be held across the country on May 7

Amid the ongoing tension along the border with Pakistan, a major civil defence exercise is going to be held in various parts of India's 244 districts on May 7. Through this exercise, the common man, government employees, and security forces will all be prepared for war or dangerous situations.

On Tuesday (May 6) at 10:45 am, Union Home Secretary Govinda Mohan will hold a video conference with the Chief Secretaries of the states and union territories and officials of the Civil Defence Department. The meeting will discuss the preparations for the exercise and the things to be done.

The exercise will be held at the village level. The Home Ministry said that the purpose of this is to train the common man on how to stay safe in emergency situations and to check the effectiveness of government measures.

 The main focus of the exercise will be:

Checking whether the air raid warning system is working properly

Testing the communication system with the Air Force in case of emergency

Checking whether the control room and other emergency rooms are functioning properly

Teaching the common people, including school and college students, what to do in times of danger

Camouflaging important places before they are seen by the enemy

Testing how to handle a situation with a sudden power blackout

Checking how effective firefighting, rescue work, and warden services are

Checking how the plan to move people to safe places works in times of danger

The announcement of this exercise comes at a time when 26 people have been killed in a horrific terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam. This has increased concerns about internal security in the country.

Earlier, on May 2, the Centre had written to the states that civil defence systems in vulnerable areas should be strengthened. A total of 295 districts and cities have already been identified as vulnerable. 

Through this exercise, the government wants the people and the administration of the country to be able to act quickly and correctly in times of danger. It is believed that this will further strengthen the security of the country.