Pune Civil Defence officials said Tuesday that they have started activating their systems in coordination with the district administration, local armed forces formations, emergency services, police, and other civilian agencies, following the Centre’s directive to test and strengthen preparedness mechanisms in the event of a hostile attack. Among the initial steps, the civil defence authorities have started testing around 75 sirens in and around the city and are holding coordination meetings with all stakeholder agencies. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had on Monday asked the states and Union Territories to conduct mock drills on May 7. The directive came amidst the heated situation at the Line of Control and tensions escalating over a likely Indian military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. In Maharashtra, various important cities, including Pune, have offices of deputy controllers of civil defence. Officials from the Pune Deputy Controllerate said that from Tuesday morning they have started testing sirens installed in and around the region. Coordination meetings with stakeholder agencies are also underway. Senior officials from district administration indicated that the mock drill in Pune on May 7 is likely to take place at the Council Hall, which is the office of the Divisional Commissioner of Pune in Pune Camp. A siren being tested in Pune in preparation for the nation-wide mock drill. Only 3 locations in Pune to have the mock drill - Council Hall, Mulshi, and Talegaon. pic.twitter.com/3H612YMGHH — Express Pune Resident Editor (@ExpressPune) May 6, 2025 The mock drills will assess the effectiveness of air raid warning systems, operationalisation of hotline and radio communication links with the Indian Air Force, test the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms, and train civilians, students. The drills will also ensure provision of crash blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital plants and installations to verify the activation and response of Civil Defence services, including warden services, firefighting, rescue operations, and depot management, to evaluate the preparedness of evacuation plans and their execution, the MHA stated. An official from the Directorate of Civil Defence of Maharashtra said, “Civil defence is primarily an effort to protect the non-combatant commoner in the scenario of a hostile attack. The idea is based on the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response and emergency evacuation and recovery.” “Civil Defence establishments have been set up in the states and UTs as per the Civil Defence Act, 1968 and its pertinent rules. The legislation covers mandate of protection of individuals, properties, and establishments against any hostile attacks. Civil defence efforts also include major contributions by citizen volunteers from various fields, who are given basic training and can be of assistance to any government agency that is responding to a situation," the official added.
