Nationwide civil defence drills conducted Across 250 districts amid heightened security concerns

New Delhi, May 7: Widespread mock drills were conducted across India on Wednesday as part of Operation Abhyas, a nationwide civil defence exercise aimed at testing and strengthening the country’s emergency preparedness systems. The drills were held in around 250 districts, including major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh, following a directive issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on May 5. The exercises were designed to simulate a variety of hostile scenarios—ranging from air raids, blackouts, urban fire emergencies, and casualty evacuations to the setup of temporary hospitals and mass civilian relocations to safe zones or underground bunkers.

These activities tested coordination between civil administration, law enforcement, fire services, and local health infrastructure.

The drills come against the backdrop of rising tensions between India and Pakistan, especially after the recent air strikes under Operation Sindoor, which targeted terrorist infrastructure across the border in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists. According to officials, the selected districts were identified based on threat perception and proximity to sensitive installations, international borders, or critical infrastructure. Sirens, public address systems, and coordinated blackout procedures were activated during the simulations to assess public responsiveness and institutional readiness.

In Jammu and Kashmir, drills were postponed in some districts due to concurrent security operations and movement restrictions. However, officials noted that mock exercises in other parts of the Union Territory were carried out successfully. A senior home ministry official said the purpose of the exercise was twofold: “to rigorously test our preparedness for a range of emergencies and to enhance public awareness about how to respond during crises.” Leaflets, local broadcasts, and school outreach programmes were also part of the awareness campaign accompanying the drills.

Operation Abhyas reflects a broader shift in India’s national security posture, prioritising civil defence capacity-building and grassroots coordination in anticipation of both conventional threats and asymmetric warfare.