GUWAHATI: The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that mock drills will be conducted across 244 civil defence districts in the country on May 7, with Assam set to host exercises in 20 of them. The move follows the recent terror attack in Pahalgam and growing tensions with Pakistan.
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The categorised civil defence districts of Assam under the latest classification include 16 Category-II and 4 Category-III districts.
Category-II districts where the drills will be conducted include Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh, Dhubri, Goalpara, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Tinsukia, Tezpur, Digboi, Duliajan, Guwahati (Dispur), Rangia, Namrup, Nazira, North-Lakhimpur, and Numaligarh. The Category-III districts listed for the exercise are Darrang, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, Kokrajhar.
According to the ministry’s directive, these drills will test operational links between district authorities and the Indian Air Force through hotline and radio communications. Functional checks will also be conducted on control rooms and backup (shadow) control rooms to evaluate response coordination.
Union home secretary Govind Mohan on Tuesday, May 6 chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi to review the framework and logistics of the operation. Senior officials from disaster management, defence, intelligence, and communications agencies participated in the briefing.
The drills will be coordinated by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) in collaboration with local civil defence teams, police, and district administrations. Mock scenarios will include simulated air attacks, communication blackouts, and mass casualty events to measure readiness.
