Ceasefire brings relief while civil defence drills continue

New Delhi: The announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan was good news for the city authorities. Drills were being conducted in residential areas, Civil Defence volunteers were receiving additional training and secure locations were being identified for people to find safe places in case of an air attack on the capital.Starting with Operation Abhyaas, a mega drill conducted last Wed at 55 locations in the city, simulating various scenarios such as air raids, fires and rescue operations, specialised teams were visiting residential colonies, markets, commercial complexes and offices with Civil Defence volunteers to train people in how to respond to military acts of hostility.Though there were still some drone incursions after the ceasefire was announced, the situation still appeared to have eased a bit, but govt officials confirmed that the exercise will continue. They said in the last few days, the teams covered a large number of residential pockets, housing societies and high-rise buildings. "We do not want to leave out a single area and our target is to make every single person aware of the protocols needed to be followed in case of an air raid," said an official.While the Directorate of Civil Defence planned to publish a booklet on the protocols for people to follow in different eventualities, officials said short videos on various modules prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority were circulated through social media and were watched by millions of people. "These were not only posted on various social media platforms, all govt officials and elected representatives were urged to share them on WhatsApp groups," said a Delhi govt official.With the situation becoming tense at the border, govt decided to come out with a public notice to enrol more Civil Defence volunteers, officials said it may not be done with urgency now. Though there are close to 1.7 lakh Civil Defence volunteers registered with the directorate, officials accepted that the number of active ones, who were working officially during the ongoing crises, was just around 5,000."There is an urgent need to have more volunteers, especially youngsters, associated with us. We would also like ex-servicemen, who are trained in combat and are disciplined and fit, to join as volunteers," said an official.