Shillong, May 8: Meghalaya on Wednesday witnessed the conduct of a statewide civil defence mock exercise aiming at educating citizens about safety protocols during air raids.
The mock exercise was conducted by the Directorate of Civil Defence & Home Guards as per the directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs which directed all states in India to conduct exercises simulating air raids by enemy aircraft and civil defence measures like black out and evacuation etc.
The preparation assumed significance especially after the Indian armed forces launched operation Sindoor hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.
In Meghalaya, the civil defence mock exercise was conducted in all 12 districts with special emphasis on three districts of East Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills and West Garo Hills.
The exercise commenced exactly at 4pm with the Civil Defence setup springing into action right from the village level through the Civil Defence Warden Services and local Civil Defence Volunteers and at the district level with the District Magistrate as the Controller of Civil Defence taking charge of CD Measures assisted by the Deputy Controllers Civil Defence, Quick Response Team of Civil Defence & Home Guards, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Police, Fire and Emergency Services, District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) of all Districts.
At the State Level, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), the Air Force Station and the 101 Area of the Army also participated in the Civil Defence Exercise. Simulations included Search and Rescue from collapsed structures to indicate damaged buildings responded by Civil Defence Volunteers and Wardens and Quick Response Team of Civil Defence and Home Guards, fire incidents to which the Fire and Emergency Services and specialized rescue responded by State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) responded to.
At 6:28 PM the sound of the Air Raid Siren reverberated in almost the whole state for 2 minutes in fluctuating notes to indicate incoming air raid by enemy aircrafts. At 6:30 PM sharp, almost the whole state was plunged into darkness as part of black out, a civil defence measure used against air raids.
The black out lasted for 2 minutes and at 6:32 PM the all clear was indicated through the siren which lasted for 1 minute with a steady pitch. With that the mock exercise came to a successful end.
“The Civil Defence Exercise was carried out to test the preparedness of the Civil Defence machinery in the State in the event of war or warlike situation” said MK Sangma, Joint Director of Civil Defence who addressed a press conference earlier in the day.
He informed the media that the Civil Defence Exercise on Air Raid was conducted for the first time in the State after 1971. He stated that due to short notice this was the first phase of the civil defence exercise and a more elaborate and full-fledged exercise will be conducted in the near future.
