Delhi, Nearby Areas To Witness First-Ever Mega Mock Disaster Drill On August 1

A first-ever "mega-scale" disaster management mock exercise will be conducted in the national capital region (NCR) on August 1 with the involvement of multiple emergency response agencies working to tackle earthquake, industrial and chemical hazards-like situations.

The drill will be preceded by a symposium of multiple stakeholder agencies to be held on July 29 and table-top exercises (TTEx) on July 30 at the Manekshaw Centre in Delhi.

The exercise will be conducted jointly by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Army's Western Command and Headquarter Delhi Area, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, civil defence, fire services, and health and transport departments apart from the disaster management organisations of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

This mega exercise is named Suraksha Chakra and this is the first such integrated disaster management exercise to be held in Delhi-NCR, an NDMA member said during a press briefing here.

"The mega-scale drills are part of the Centre's whole-of-government approach where multiple stakeholders will work together to make this region a safer place," NDMA Member Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) told reporters.

He said the exercise aims to create awareness amongst the general public and find ways and solutions to tackle a real disaster that may hit the Delhi-NCR in the future.

DDMA CEO Krishan Kumar said at least 55 places in 11 districts of Delhi will be hosting the mock drills with multiple police, fire and emergency vehicles and ambulances criss-crossing the length and breadth of the national capital on August 1.

"We request the press to spread the message that these are mock drills and there should be no panic or rumour mongering. Through these drills, the participating agencies are aiming to lessen response time during disasters and identify gaps," Kumar said.

Lt Gen Hasnain said apart from Delhi, two districts of UP -- Noida and Ghaziabad -- and five from adjoining Haryana-- Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Nuh and Rewari-- will be part of the mock drills.

"We are looking for jointness during this exercise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision that such exercises should be regularly held in order to better prepare ourselves for tackling disasters," he said.

The symposium and table-top exercises, Hasnain said, will have discussions and debates amongst various agencies and aims to find "optimum" ways to respond to disasters in this region which is especially vulnerable to earthquakes.

An analysis and response mechanism against chemical and fire hazards will also be done at the same time and "we will find best ways" to tackle such accidents apart from "resource mapping" , he said.

Hasnain said the NDMA has conducted 200 small and large disaster mock drills across the country in the last five years. He recalled that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also directed that such exercises should be conducted once every three years in each of the 750 districts of the country.

The NDMA said such exercises are part of its effort to build a culture of "preparedness" and "resilience" and the outcomes will contribute towards strengthening the disaster management capabilities of Delhi-NCR for the safety and security of citizens during emergencies.

Such integrated mock exercises have been held earlier in UP, the north eastern states and along the east and west coasts of the country, as per the NDMA.

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