Gurgaon: CISF conducts mock drill at Guru Dronacharya Metro station to check terror preparedness

The drill was meant to check preparedness against terror attacks, improve coordination among multiple agencies and reduce the response time

To deal with a possibility of a terror attack and check its preparedness, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) conducted an hour long mock drill at the Guru Dronacharya metro station on the yellow line on Tuesday.

The CISF’s bomb disposal and dog squad were also present at the site and they were assisted by the Gurgaon police, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the intelligence bureau (IB) officials during the drill. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The CISF’s bomb disposal and dog squad were also present at the site and they were assisted by the Gurgaon police, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials during the drill.

The drill started from 11 am, and commuters were initially taken aback when CISF officials stormed inside the metro station. However, regular announcements via PA system quelled any situation of panic from arising.

“A proxy call was made to the DMRC officials about a bomb being placed inside a bag at the metro station. Accordingly, DMRC officials alerted the CISF control room about the situation and personnel were rushed to the spot. The entire station was swept and the bag was recovered. The dog squad then sniffed the bag and confirmed it was a hoax,” a senior CISF officer said.

The officer said the drill is a regular exercise to check preparedness against terror attacks, improve coordination among multiple agencies and reduce the response time.

Gurgaon police officials were designated outside the metro station to ensure traffic flow remains unhampered from the drill while the DMRC officials regulated passenger queues to ensure there is no disruption to metro services.

Passengers at the station though complained about delay owing to reduction in number of entry points to the platform.

“We were allowed to pass through specific points as some of the passenger counters (flap points) were closed for passage. I agree with such drills, but it should be conducted during non-rush hours to ensure there is little disruption to commuters,” Smriti Narula, a resident of Essel Towers said.

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The CISF officials said the metro service is widely used by Gurgaon residents and there is always a rush at the metro stations making it susceptible to terror attacks.

In October 2016, a mock drill was also conducted at the HUDA City Centre metro station ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit for Haryana Swarna Jayanti Celebrations.