Ahmedabad, May 7 (PTI) Civil defence mock drills simulating air strikes and blackout exercises were conducted at vital installations across 18 districts of Gujarat on Wednesday to raise public awareness about emergency preparedness, officials said.
The drills, organised in response to directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs following the Pahalgam terror attack, simulated emergency scenarios such as air strikes and fires at key installations. Participating districts included Vadodara, Surat, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Kutch, and others.
From 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM, citizens in the 18 districts observed blackout exercises, voluntarily switching off lights for 30 minutes in staggered time slots, an official release stated.
In Ahmedabad, mock drills were carried out at the Vatva industrial area and a mall on the SG Highway. The exercise began with an air-raid siren, prompting evacuation drills led by police, civil defence, and fire personnel, who guided citizens on emergency protocols.
Significant sites such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam (Narmada district), the Vadinar oil refinery (Devbhumi Dwarka), and Reliance’s refinery and the Sikka thermal power station (Jamnagar) also hosted similar drills.
Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi monitored the state-wide drill from the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) in Gandhinagar.
He previously stated that around 10,000 civil defence volunteers and local sarpanchs were mobilised to ensure the smooth implementation of the initiative.