New Delhi: Early Wednesday morning, students in a school in New Delhi ducked under desks and covered their heads with school bags inside classrooms. This was part of a mock drill exercise to prepare them against “new and complex threats” in the backdrop of the growing tension between India and Pakistan.
Similar scenes played out in south Delhi’s Kalkaji, where teachers of Sri Satya Sai Vidya Vihar School began awareness programmes and basic drills for hostile threat preparedness. Rajiv Kumar Dhingra, a physical education teacher, conducted the mock-drill at 10 a.m. in which at least 1,127 students participated along with 47 teaching staff and 68 non-teaching staff.
As soon as the siren started ringing, students in different parts of the school including the playground, library and classes were immediately asked to either go down and hide under tables and desks, or lay down on the ground. Students were also shown how to rescue the disabled and injured in case of an emergency.
A part of the drill involved making makeshift stretchers using bed sheets and bamboo sticks, and how to carry the injured in them. “As a unit, we successfully managed to conduct the mock drill with the help of our senior students, sports and house captains as instructed by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Dhingra told ThePrint soon after the mock drill came to an end.
Till now, Dhingra said the school had conducted mock drills to prepare for handling disaster in moments like a sudden earthquake, or a massive fire. Wednesday was different.
Dhingra noted that due to social media, kids have already become acquainted with the “war-like situation”, something that is happening for the first time in many decades. “We are just trying to develop awareness among our kids.”
In a notice circulated across schools in New Delhi, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had earlier asked the Directorate of Education to issue an advisory to all schools in Delhi to conduct awareness programmes and basic drills for hostile threat preparedness. “These programmes are aimed at educating students and staff about safety protocols during civil emergencies such as air raids, sabotage threats, or any hostile situations,” the notice read.
The drill was conducted across 550 schools located in different parts of New Delhi.
“The motive is to work as a united nation. Saving our kids will be the biggest service that we can do for our nation because our kids are our future,” Dhingra, the physical education teacher, said.
Also Read: ‘Operation Abhyaas’—in Delhi schools, students learn what to do after hearing air raid sirens
‘First-aid kits & blackouts’
Located in New Friends Colony, Cosmos Public School conducted a similar mock drill session for students between class 1 and 8. Deepa Nagar, the incharge of Cosmos Public School told ThePrint that the drill just like every other school began with sirens.
“We told them (students) that an emergency can happen at any time and they need to know basic things like the difference between the two sirens,” she said, explaining that the first sirens that would ring for 30 minutes would mark the beginning of the war, while the 3-minute siren would mark the end of any danger.
On Wednesday, India woke up to the news of a sudden escalation of tensions as the armed forces had launched Operation Sindoor to take out terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
During the mock drill, Nagar said that she along with other teachers told the students that they needed to be prepared for a similar upcoming situation like this. “We made them understand how a basement or a car parking area can be used to seek protection.”
Nagar added that students were told that they need to keep a first-aid kit ready along with dry food that should last for at least three to four days. Moreover, they were also told that a power bank should be kept fully charged and chargers and important documents like driving license and Aadhaar cards should be kept handy.
In case of a blackout , the students were told that they should not panic and stay calm without turning on the lights. “Moreover, if they really need to turn on the light for an emergency, then the windows should be covered with black paper,” she said.
At least 300 students had participated in the drill in Cosmos Public School. “The future is unpredictable. Now we are sitting here, tomorrow there might be an actual war, just like the COVID-19 pandemic broke out suddenly or demonetisation happened suddenly,” she said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: ‘Some screamed with every thud, others prayed’—J&K residents recall night of Operation Sindoor