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India mock drill: Delhi lights up again, blackouts continue in other cities
India mock drill updates: Blackouts were conducted all across India today as part of a mock drill exercise. Several parts of Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Bareilly, Bhopal, Lucknow and more became a no-light zone for a short period of time.
- 4:47 PM IST, May 7Mock security drills conducted across Delhi, see visuals
- 4:01 PM IST, May 7Security drill conducted at Mumbai's CSMT station
- 3:55 PM IST, May 7Security drill conducted in Siliguri school
- 3:28 PM IST, May 7Mock drill conducted at Varanasi' Kashi Vishwanath Temple
- 3:10 PM IST, May 7What to avoid during mock drills
- 3:02 PM IST, May 7Things to know during mock drills
- 2:45 PM IST, May 7Bihar ‘all prepared’ for mock drill, says DGP Vinay Kumar
- 2:19 PM IST, May 7How Delhi is preparing for security mock drills
- 2:08 PM IST, May 7Kiran Bedi on security mock drills
- 1:48 PM IST, May 7Security drill conducted at schools across Delhi
- 1:35 PM IST, May 7Full-list of 244 cities where exercise will be held today
- 1:20 PM IST, May 760 air raid sirens to go off in Delhi at 4 pm
- 1:09 PM IST, May 7Civil defence mock drills to be held at four locations in Hyderabad
- 12:57 PM IST, May 7UP's Bareilly to see 10-minute blackout on Wednesday
- 12:32 PM IST, May 7Delhi's Kerala School conducts mock drill
- 12:23 PM IST, May 7Security drill conducted in Noida's Amity School
- 12:10 PM IST, May 7Are banks open today amid mega security mock drill? Details here
- 11:54 AM IST, May 7Mock drills to be held at 2 locations in Andhra Pradesh
- 11:37 AM IST, May 7Chandigarh to conduct 10-minute blackout drill
- 11:27 AM IST, May 7What's open and what's closed as India prepares for security mock drills
- 11:14 AM IST, May 7What is the objective of the mock drills?
- 11:04 AM IST, May 7Lucknow madarsa conducts mock drill
- 10:56 AM IST, May 7What will happen during mock drills?
- 10:42 AM IST, May 7Mock drill conducted in Varanasi' Reserve police lines
- 10:33 AM IST, May 7What are the timings for blackouts and sirens?
- 10:24 AM IST, May 7Complete list of locations where mock drills will be conducted in Delhi
- 10:16 AM IST, May 7Schools in four districts of Rajasthan shut after Operation Sindoor
- 10:14 AM IST, May 7Odisha fire department prepares for security mock drill
- 9:56 AM IST, May 7Andaman & Nicobar Islands fully prepared for civil defence mock drills, says official
India mock drill updates: Blackout exercises are underway on Wednesday in several cities across India as part of a large scale civil defence mock drill to review India's emergency response preparedness as tensions flare with neighbouring country Pakistan. The Ministry of Home Affairs had directed all the states and union territories on Monday to conduct the drills to check whether they’re prepared against "new and complex threats".
...Read MoreThe direction on Monday came as India prepared to strike terror posts in Pakistan along the Line of Control (LOC) on the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday under Operation Sindoor. The strikes came as a sharp response to the terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 people, mostly terrorists. Under Operation Sindoor, which caught Pakistan unawares, the Indian armed forces launched “focused strikes” on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Now amid the anticipation of further escalating tensions, it becomes even more crucial to review India’s civil defence preparedness. Such high-scale mock drills are perhaps being conducted since 1971 across India.
Districts across the country started conducting mock drills on Wedneday, while in most places, the drills started at 4 pm.
As directed by the government, the mock drills involved air raid sirens going off, activation of emergency control rooms, evacuation rehearsals, and coordination with civil defence staff.
Civil defence mock drills today | Key points
- Students, government and private employees, healthcare staff, railway and metro officials, along with several security forces participated in the mock drills around the country.
- No emergency services and transport were disrupted due to the mock drills around India. Security drills were conducted in several schools across India during the day on Wednesday.
- Air raid simulations and black out exercises were also conducted in several civil defence districts to ensure war-time preparedness and smooth emergency responses.
- Blackout exercises plunged several cities into the dark over the course of the day, with lights gradually turning back on in Delhi.
- While several parts of Delhi went dark, notably the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Prime Minister's residence, ICUs in hospitals and dispensaries were exempt from the blackout.
- Security drills were also conducted at high-profile locations based on national importance and density of crowd, such as the CSMT station in Mumbai, the RBI building, Delhi's IGI airport and more.
