Mock drills at six locations in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka

Uttara Kannada district administration carried out mock drills at six different locations as part of ‘Operation Abhyaas’. The mock drills are being held in the wake of the Indo-Pak conflict to test preparedness of the administrations in handling an emergency and protecting citizens.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

‘Operation Abhyaas’ a mock drill to protect citizens during times of emergencies was carried out at six different locations in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka on May 12.

It began with a mock drill on evacuation of people during building collapse at Grasim Industries at Binaga, which was jointly conducted by teams of NDRF, fire brigade, Grasim company, revenue and police departments.

This was followed by a mock drill on taking precautionary measures during fire mishap inside the nuclear power plant at Kaiga. Next was an evacuation drill at Aratuga village pertaining to radiation contamination, followed by mock drill on a fire mishap at the civil colony in Amadahalli near the naval base.

Next was a mock drill at Rabindranath Tagore beach in Karwar simulating an air strike and evacuation of people. A mock drill on bomb blast and subsequent evacuation was conducted at Karwar railway station.

The last mock drill was a complete blackout at two locations — in Karwar municipal limits and in Kaiga township — was carried out at night. During the mock drill, citizens were asked to voluntarily switch off lights in their homes and stay at home. And those driving vehicles were advised to abandon their vehicles and take shelter in the nearest building.

Briefing mediapersons, Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner K. Lakshmipriya said that, with the coordination of various government departments, private parties and naval staff, the mock drills at six different locations were successfully conducted.

“We first received a call at the district control room at 4 p.m. about the collapse of a building at Grasim industries. It took 38 minutes for the fire brigade, police and other staff to complete the mock drill, including providing medical aid. The fire accident mock drill at Kaiga nuclear power plant, following a call at 4.15 p.m., took 40 minutes to complete,” she said.

The mock drill on evacuation of village residents of Aratuga village to BCM hostel at Siddaragrama following radiation contamination due to a fire at Kaiga took around 75 minutes. The mock drills at Amadahalli, near the naval base, which was carried out with assistance of naval staff, took 43 minutes.

The mock drill on bomb blast at railway station was carried out in around 43 minutes.

The Deputy Commissioner said that officials had installed 13 sirens for the mock drill on complete blackout.

She said for the mock drills, they had established both district and police control rooms, and had also set up hotlines to address the possibility of communication disruption. This apart, a shadow control room had been set up, which would be used in case of damage to control rooms. The shadow control room was also tested, she said.

The mock drill was part of ‘Operation Abhyaas’, which is being held in the wake of the Indo-Pak conflict to test preparedness of the administrations in handling an emergency and protecting citizens.