The official directive issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) came on May 5 where it was mentioned that through the 'Operation Abhyaas' endeavour, the civilians would be trained to protect themselves in case of a war.
Following the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA) instruction, extensive nationwide mock drills were conducted on Wednesday amid intensifying tensions with Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam attack which India retaliated with the targeted attack called 'Operation Sindoor'.
The directive came on May 5 where it was mentioned that through the 'Operation Abhyaas' endeavour, the civilians would be trained to protect themselves in case of a war.
In an official letter, the Directorate General Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards said, “In the current geo-political scenario, new and complex threats/challenges have emerged, hence, it would be prudent that optimum civil defence preparedness in the states/UTs is maintained at all times.”
Amid heightened tensions with Pakistan, Bengaluru authorities on Wednesday carried out an extensive civil defence mock drill at various locations in the city under.
The half-an-hour mock drill included rescue operations in the event of fire, rescuing people from beneath the debris, evacuation of people from high rises, and medical emergency services.
According to Bengaluru police, there will be no city-level power outage today.
"There will be no city-level power outage mock drill in Bengaluru this evening. It will be limited to the Fire and Emergency Services office premises in Halasur and will be held from 6:40 PM to 7:00 PM", said Bengaluru Police.
A mock drill was also conducted at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.
Security agencies, the bomb squad, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed as part of the nationwide initiative.
Across places in West Bengal, civil defence drills were held at a schools where students and teachers received training on responding to crisis situations.
In Kolkata, four private schools including DPS Ruby Park, La Martiniere for Boys, La Martiniere for Girls, and Future Foundation School, conducted the evacuation drills on Wednesday.
Mumbai saw multiple drills across key locations. At Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), the Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police executed 'Operation Abhyaas', a national exercise intended to assess readiness against emerging threats.
A similar drill took place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), where teams responded to mock bomb threats, medical emergencies, and crowd control situations.