Air raid, bomb attack, blackout simulated during mock drill in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam district administration on Wednesday carried out mock drills mandated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), simulating an air raid, bomb attack and blackout.

Several departments – Navy, Fire, Municipal, NTPC, HPCL, Medical, NDRF, SDRF, CISF, Education, Police and others – partook in this exercise.

“Basically, we concentrated on two major activities, an air raid and a blackout. During the air raid, a siren was sounded. We got an alert from the Navy. There was an incursion, incoming aerial attack,” Visakhapatnam district collector MN Harendihra Prasad told PTI.

Based on this ‘air raid’, the collector said a siren was set off in a particular locality, prompting civilians to take cover in their houses.

Following this first activity of air raid, he said a bomb drop was simulated for the second one, which involved the movement of ambulances, calling police and setting emergency teams into motion.

Later, Prasad said the Fire department and SDRF were pressed into service. SDRF came to rescue people while NDRF would attend to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks on civilians.

“SDRF rescued people from the rubble and from higher floors they brought down people. This was demonstrated and subsequently between 7 pm and 7:15 pm we did a blackout,” said the collector.

The people were informed well in advance about a siren and that they all had to turn off the power and then stay indoors, said Prasad.

A blackout drill was carried out at two locations, Oxygen Towers and Kotha Jalaripeta.

In simulated conditions, SDRF personnel were seen carrying a person on a stretcher from a building ‘attacked by bombs’.

Fully equipped security personnel were also seen patrolling a train coach, while volunteers and NCC cadets assisted in the drill.

Fire engines and ambulances were seen rushing through the port city as part of the drill, along with other rescue activities.

On Tuesday, Visakhapatnam District Collector M N Harendhira Prasad announced that two locations Kotha Jalaripeta and Oxygen Towers have been selected for the drill.

Besides the port city, mock drills were also executed at Talapalem in Krishna district, Ahobilam in Nandyal district, a few places in Eluru district, Kurnool town and others.