Mock drills to be conducted at three places in Pune sirens tested

    Pune, May 6 (PTI) Mock drills will be conducted at the Council Hall in Pune and Panchayat Samiti and Municipal Council offices in Mulshi and Talegaon on Wednesday as part of a nationwide preparedness exercise to assess the country’s readiness for any hostile attacks.
    Earlier in the day, Civil Defence officials started activating the emergency response system by testing some 75 sirens installed across Pune.
    "Mock drills will be conducted after sounding a siren at 4 pm at Council Hall, Panchayat Samiti office in Mulshi, and Municipal Council office in Talegaon," District Collector Jitendra Dudi told reporters.
    He said personnel from civil defence, the Army, Air Force, Police, Fire Brigade, NDRF, Revenue and Health Departments, municipal corporations, and district administration will participate in the exercise. Additionally, students from various colleges, NSS, and NCC cadets will also participate.
    Dudi stressed that no blackout is planned during the drills.
    "A hotline will be set up in the coming days, and citizens will be made aware of the SOPs in the event of emergencies," he stated.
    The Union Home Ministry has asked all States to conduct mock drills on Wednesday in view of "new and complex threats" that have emerged amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
    Yogesh Pardeshi, divisional warden of the Kothrud division of Civil Defence, said they have started testing the sirens.
    "Our personnel are visiting each site to verify that sirens are functioning properly," he said.
    Volunteers are also coordinating with various agencies, including the district disaster management cell, fire brigade, police, defence forces, and medical services, to prepare for the comprehensive mock drill.
    District disaster management cell officer Vitthal Banaute said a meeting of all stakeholders, including representatives of Civil Defence, police, local administration, defence entities, health officials and fire services, has been convened to finalise preparations for the exercise.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)