Civil defence mock drills simulating air strikes and blackout exercises were conducted across 12 districts of Meghalaya, with special emphasis on three districts of East Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills and West Garo Hills on Wednesday to raise public awareness about emergency preparedness.
The drills organised in response to directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs following the Pahalgam terror attack, simulated emergency scenarios such air raids, civil defence measures like black out and evacuation.
The exercise commenced exactly at 4 pm 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, an official release stated.
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 exercise.
At 6:28 pm the sound of the air raid siren reverberated in almost the whole state to indicate incoming air raid by enemy aircrafts before the state plunged into darkness at 6: 30 pm for two minutes.
However, residents in some areas have reported solar-powered lights remaining on during the mock drills, possibly due to automatic or system-related factors.
“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” Joint Director of Civil Defence MK Sangma said during a press conference earlier in the day.
He informed 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.
