Mock drills to take place today at 12 Metro stations

A mock drill will be conducted across 12 Metro stations in the national capital on Saturday to check disaster preparedness.

Metro commuters are advised to start with some additional time in hand while travelling as the drill is likely to cause some  inconvenience.

Delhi divisional commissioner Vijay Dev said the mock drill, which is expected to affect metro operations on all lines for less than an hour, is being conducted by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

“Mock incidents like bomb blast, earthquake and terrorist strikes would be enacted to check the response mechanism of emergency services such as fire and ambulance. We are not revealing the time of the mock drill this time,” said Dev.

Perhaps, the officials have learnt a lesson from the February’s mock drill when several PCR vans had reached the spot even before the drill’s call was given as the time was disclosed beforehand.

The drill will take place at these Metro stations – Dwarka sec-11, Central Secretariat, Pitampura, Azadpur, Badarpur, Kirti Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Akshardham, Shahdara, Central, Karol Bagh, Noida City Centre and Guru Dronacharya in Gurgaon.

Dev said while conducting future drills, even the name of Metro stations will not be revealed.

A mock drill to check the medical preparedness of the city in case of a disaster will also be carried out from the first week of August to first week of December.

The exercise will involve all nine revenue districts.

Termed as DEMEX (Delhi Emergency Management Exercise), it will assess the preparations of all the hospitals, including government and private facilities, as well as ambulances and paramedical staff to deal with any form of
disaster.