A total of 259 locations across India, including those located in border states like Rajasthan and West Bengal, will participate in a mega security drill on Wednesday, amid escalating tension between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack on April 22.
This exercise is going to be the first of its kind since 1971. It was a landmark year since India and Pakistan went to war and Bangladesh was formed.
“The conduct of the exercise is planned up to the village level. This exercise aims to assess and enhance the readiness of Civil Defence mechanisms across all States and Union Territories,” read the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to states as quoted by NDTV.
The notification mentioned that civilians should be trained to respond to a “hostile attack”.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked states to operationalise air raid warning sirens and train civilians to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack.
States have been asked to undertake crash blackout measures and provision for early camouflaging of vital plants/installations.
Modi-Doval meeting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning met National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval amid the simmering tension between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack, media reports said.
This is one of the several meetings the Prime Minister has been holding over the last few days, while a possible military retaliation against the terror attack is widely speculated.
Modi met Doval and other key officials, including the Defence Secretary, Home Secretary, and other officials at his official residence on Monday evening.
He met Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh amid speculation over how New Delhi would respond to the terror strike.
The meeting lasted for more than half an hour and came a day after the Prime Minister met Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh.
The Prime Minister has also met the chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
On Saturday, Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi had briefed the Prime Minister on the situation in the critical sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.
Modi has warned that those involved in carrying out and plotting the terror attack will get the harshest of punishment, and his sentiment has been echoed by political leaders across party lines.
In line with his commitment, he had earlier given full operational freedom to the armed forces.
Rajnath Singh’s message
On Sunday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assured India that “what you desire will certainly happen”, dropping a significant hint about India’s next move.
In an immediate response to the terror attack, India suspended the landmark Indus River water-sharing treaty and closed the Attari-Wagah road border, which acts as a lifeline of Indo-Pak trade and people-to-people ties, besides expelling diplomats, downsizing high commissions, and issuing a 48-hour deadline to Pakistani visa holders present in India to leave.
