Patna: A large-scale civil defence mock drill simulating an air raid and blackout situation will be conducted across six districts of Bihar on Thursday evening, including Patna, as part of a preparedness exercise directed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The exercise will also take place in Kishanganj, Begusarai, Purnia, Araria and Katihar. Officials said six different emergency response drills would be carried out during the operation.
As part of the exercise, sirens will sound at 7pm, following which electricity supply will be suspended for 15 minutes until 7:15pm. Residents have been urged to switch off all lights inside and outside their homes during the blackout period and cooperate with authorities.
The Directorate of Civil Defence has been appointed the nodal agency for coordinating the statewide exercise.
Ahead of the drill, the Department of Disaster Management on Wednesday conducted a “table-top exercise” to review preparations. The session was chaired by the department’s principal secretary, Santosh Kumar Mall, along with Dr Paresh Saxena, director general of the Directorate of Civil Defence. Disaster management officials from the participating districts joined the meeting through video conferencing.
Mall appealed to residents not to panic during the blackout and advised apartment complexes against operating generators during the exercise. He also requested people to avoid using mobile phone screens, flashlights or any other source of light in order to maintain a complete blackout scenario.
District magistrates of the concerned districts have been instructed to ensure siren systems are functional and to coordinate with the energy department for the temporary suspension of power supply.
Authorities said public address systems installed at major intersections, along with sirens mounted on police and fire brigade vehicles, would be used to alert residents. Hospitals have also been directed to install curtains or temporary coverings on windows during the drill.
Dr Saxena briefed officials on the six parameters of the mock exercise and said the objective was to strengthen emergency preparedness and inter-agency coordination. He noted that Begusarai had performed particularly well during a previous exercise and asked officials to prepare along similar lines for Thursday’s operation.
Representatives from the State Disaster Management Authority, SDRF, NDRF, Railway Protection Force, NSS, NCC and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan participated in the preparatory meeting along with disaster management officials from the six districts.
