Full-scale mock drill across 13 districts in Delhi to assess preparedness

Adhiraj Dogra, a resident of Amar Colony, said such exercises help instill confidence in people regarding the roles of different agencies during a disaster.

The Directorate of Civil Defence conducted a full-scale mock drill simulating a hostile air attack across 13 districts of Delhi on Thursday night to assess the preparedness of disaster response agencies.

A circular to carry out a mock drill was issued by the directorate of civil defence to magistrates of 13 district last week. (HT )

HT visited Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing in Lajpat Nagar, where the exercise began at 8:10 pm with a complete blackout across the campus. The campus, which housed around 250 students along with academic and administrative staff, then saw a swift and coordinated response from multiple agencies to carry out evacuation and rescue operations.

A circular to carry out a mock drill was issued by the directorate of civil defence to magistrates of 13 district last week.

Farida Noora, a 24-year-old student at the nursing college, said they had been given brief instructions a day earlier on basic individual preparedness. However, participating in the mock drill alongside response agencies provided a much more realistic experience of handling a disaster.

"I was in my hostel room when the light went off and siren started, and then we all came out of our rooms and moved towards the mess. It was only after when the second bell rang, and the rescue team came that we climbed down and gathered in the ground," Noora said. While Noora was among the larger group of students who were evacuated safely, a few participants in the exercise simulated injuries, with white bandages tied around their heads and hands. They were quickly attended to and rushed into ambulances by the medical team.

“Given the ongoing war and the capital’s heightened vulnerability to such risks, it was important to conduct a drill. Like any disaster simulation, our priority is to attend first to those with severe injuries, followed by those with minor ones,” said a member of the medical team at the site, who requested anonymity. Meanwhile, a four-member team carried an injured person on a stretcher to the ambulance stationed at the college gate.

How the mock drill was conducted

As agencies moved from one building to another carrying out various operations as part of the mock drill, several people gathered outside the college, trying to make sense of the complete blockage of the roads near the college entrance gate, with vehicles of various teams stationed outside, and deployment of various police officials. Adhiraj Dogra, a 17-year-old student and resident of Amar Colony, said such exercises help instil confidence in people regarding the roles of different agencies during a disaster.

"I saw the traffic was being managed, and we are asked to not this route. So I came to check, and saw there's ambulance on one side, and fire brigade on the other. We are living in uncertain times, so it's really good to see how various agencies coordinating amongst themselves and instills a confidence in normal people," said Dogra.