Emergency drills to be held at 90 locations in Delhi-NCR today

Disaster response drills will be conducted at 90 locations in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), including markets, schools, and hospitals, on Friday, said a senior official of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which is supervising the operation named ‘Exercise Suraksha Chakra’.

The exercise, which will be one of the biggest multi-State, multi-agency operations in the NCR, aims to strengthen coordination and response mechanisms for major disasters such as earthquakes and industrial chemical hazards, the official added.

The drills will be conducted simultaneously across 18 districts in the NCR — 11 in Delhi, five in Haryana (Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Nuh and Rewari) and two in Uttar Pradesh (Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad). In each district, the drills will be held at five locations.

The Army, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), civil defence volunteers and institutions such as the India Meteorological Department will be deployed at various locations during the drills, the official added.

Sirens to go off

“Sirens will be sounded at 0903 hours, initiating the drill, followed by immediate evacuation procedures,” read a note shared by the NDMA. The note added that the exercise will feature live simulations at a school, government office, residential area, hospital, and industrial area in each district.

‘Don’t panic’

It advised residents not to panic as they may witness an increased movement of emergency vehicles such as ambulances, fire tenders, police vehicles, and Army trucks on the roads.

The NDMA official said, “Response teams will conduct search and rescue drills, casualty evacuation, and provide medical aid to the ‘victims’.”