New Delhi: As the mock drill siren went off at 10:30 am at a school in New Delhi, a nursery student wailed as he exited the building. He was then heard calling for his father in fear.
This was one of the scenes Wednesday as mock drills, under ‘Operation Abhyaas’, were carried out across the country on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). They were set to cover 244 officially identified Civil Defence districts.
In the national capital, the drills were being held across 55 locations, and air raid sirens were set to sound at 4 pm. Additionally, nearly 500 schools were also carrying out their own drills between the designated time of 11 am and 4 pm.
The goal is to teach civilians what to do in case of a hostile attack or a blackout and various evacuation strategies. The mock drills are being carried out under the Civil Defence Rule, 1968, for the first time since the Bangladesh War in 1971.
The drills took place amid heightened tensions with Pakistan. On Wednesday, India conducted air strikes against terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the deadly Pahalgam attack on 22 April.
At Atal Adarsh Bengali Balika Vidyalaya in Gole Market, students and staff were asked to gather in the main ground or any open space when the siren of the school sounds. They were told they were practising precautionary measures in case of an attack.
When the clock struck 10:30 am, the siren went off and the students proceeded to the main ground, covering their heads with books, notebooks, bags, or even their hands as they were earlier told to do.
Students from Classes 1 to 8 gathered at the front of the building, while senior students gathered on the football field.
Once they were all outside, the teachers conducted a role call for the around 1,500 students, as they stood in queue. “Everyone is here,” one teacher announced, ending the drills, which lasted half an hour.
Speaking to the students and staff on the microphone, the principal, Irshad Kanwar, said, “This is for the preparation in case we have to face any attack, or calamity. We have carried this out today so that we learn from now to save ourselves and our friends in case there is any attack.”
A teacher, who asked to be named, told ThePrint, “We were informed in the morning that there is a mock drill today. We have a big school, and we have a lot of space, hence we decided to bring students to open spaces, instead of hiding under the tables. Schools are adopting different methods.”
Speaking to ThePrint, the principal later said, “We have done such mock drills earlier as well. Before, it was because of an earthquake or some accident, but today we are doing it as the entire country is on high alert.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)