Civil defence mock drills in three Karnataka districts from May 7

Bengaluru: The civil defence mock drills in Karnataka will begin on May 7 for a week in three districts amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, following the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26.

Following a meeting on Tuesday with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, it was decided to hold the mock drills under 'Operation Abhyaas' in Bengaluru Urban, Karwar in Uttara Kannada and Raichur, senior officers said.

The first mock drill will be held at the premises of Director General, Civil Defence in Bengaluru at 4 pm. The mock drills in other designated areas in the state will be held on subsequent days decided during the week, officers said. 

Mock drills aim at preparing civilians in case of a hostile attack and ways to protect vital institutions. “The three locations have been chosen due to the likelihood of large-scale damage in case of an attack,” said a senior Karnataka police officer.

Officers said that Bengaluru was chosen due to the dense population and the presence of many Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), defence establishments like the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and IT hubs.

Karwar was chosen because of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) and INS Kadamba, a major Naval base, and Raichur due to the KPCL Raichur Thermal Power Plant.

Prashanth Kumar Thakur, Director General of Police and Commandant General Home Guards; Director, Civil Defence; and Director General, Fire and Emergency Service and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said that the mock drills will be held for a week – which will also help identify loopholes, if any, and fix them – from May 7 at 4 pm so the drills could cover both the day and the night time. 

“There are 35 air raid sirens installed in different police and fire stations across the city. Of these, 32 are functioning. Apart from this, the mock drills will also focus on hospital mobilisation and relief and rescue measures [in times of an emergency],” Thakur added.

The air raid sirens with a range of three km are activated to warn civilians of an impending aerial attack. They gained prominence during World War II. “Whenever the sirens are blared – which is approximately two to three minutes – it is a sign that the civilians should immediately seek shelter in concrete structures or designated bunkers and shelters for their safety,” explained a senior Karnataka police officer.

DGP Thakur said that there were approximately 5,000 civil defence personnel in Bengaluru, including doctors, students and cadets from the National Cadet Corps (NCC). “The civil defence personnel, who have already been trained, will be activated, sensitised and deployed in different areas. They will be briefed again starting from May 7 on the mock drills,” Thakur added.

Another senior officer said that mock drills in Karnataka, which are under Category-II, will differ from the states bordering China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Mock drill steps

1) Incoming air raid

a) Activation of sirens 

b) Action to be taken

c) Blackout measures

2) Fire in the building 

3) Search and rescue 

4) Casualty evacuation from the building

5) Temporary hospital setting up

6) Civilian evacuation to bunkers 

Active air siren locations in Bengaluru

Indian Institute

CQAL

ESI Hospital, Rajajinagar

National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL)

Bangalore Dairy

Canara Bank

SRS, Peenya

VV Tower Fire Station

Jnanabharathi Fire Station, Nagarbhavi

Thanisandra Fire Station, Hebbal

Banaswadi Fire Station

Yeshwantpur Fire Station

Banashankari Fire Station

Rajajinagar Fire Station

Chamarajpet Fire Station (North)

Commercial Street Police Station

Halasuru Gate Police Station

Halasuru Police Station

Upparpet Police Station

RR Nagar Police Station

Kamakshipalya Police Station

KR Market Police Station

Vyalikaval Police Station

Halasuru Home Guard Central Office

Bengaluru Rural Home Guard Office

Bagalur Fire Station, Yelahanka

Peenya Fire Station

Anjanapura Fire Station

ITPL Fire Station, Whitefield

Sarjapur Road Fire Station

Electronics City Fire Station

Dairy Circle Fire Station (Jayanagar)