55 Sensitive Places In Delhi And NCR Identified For An Intensified Mock Drill On Friday
Organised by multi-stakeholders of the government, the multi-state integrated disaster management symposium and mock drill will highlight the sensitivity of India’s urban areas.
Published : July 28, 2025 at 7:27 PM IST
By Gautam Debroy
New Delhi: As many as 55 sensitive places in Delhi and NCR have been identified for an intensified mock drill scheduled to be organized on Friday.
The mock drill will be a continuation of a two-day-long multi-state integrated disaster management symposium, tabletop exercise and mock exercise titled “Exercise Suraksha Chakra” to be held from Tuesday to Wednesday in the national capital.
“The mock drill has been organized keeping in mind the sensitivity of Delhi and NCR. There will be an earthquake disaster and hazard vulnerability risk assessment through the drill,” said Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain.
The mock drill has been jointly organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), HQ Western Command and HQ Delhi area of the Indian Army.
“This will be the first ever mock drill organised in Delhi and NCR, highlighting the vulnerability of the urban areas,” said Hasnain.
“There will be a huge movement of police vehicles, ambulances, besides continuous activity in different hospitals in Delhi and NCR on Friday. So, we appeal to the people not to panic,” said Krishna Kumar, CEO of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
This mock drill will focus on earthquake and industrial chemical hazards across 18 districts - 11 from Delhi, five from Haryana (Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Nuh, and Rewari), and two from Uttar Pradesh (Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad).
“It will ensure coordinated actions among various stakeholders, including the armed forces, NDRF, state disaster response force, police, civil defence, fire service, health and transport departments and critical infrastructure agencies.
On Tuesday, there will be a symposium at Delhi’s Manekshaw Centre with participation from central ministries, armed forces, IMD, CWC, NCS, and DRDO. Railways, DMRC, civil aviation, civil defence, technical institutions and civil society organizations.
“On Wednesday, there will be a scenario-based syndicate discussion among state, district and sectoral stakeholders. Following scenario-based discussions, all the participating agencies will try to adopt the best practices that emerged from such discussions,” said Hasnain.
He said that NDMA keeps organising disaster-specific mock drills with different states. “With Uttar Pradesh, we did a mock drill on floods. Similarly, with Odisha, we conducted a mock drill on chemical disasters and a mock drill on landslides with the Kerala government,” said Hasnain.
Hasnain said that these exercises are part of NDMA’s continuous efforts to build a culture of preparedness and resilience, ensuring a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach towards disaster risk reduction. They will also help identify gaps in response mechanisms and enhance the operational readiness of all participating agencies,” said Hasnain.
According to Hasnain, such mock drills organized by civil defence forces have been able to mitigate enemy threats during Operation Sindoor.
“Yes, such a mock drill that we have witnessed during Operation Sindoor was able to thwart several enemy incursions in different places,” said Hasnain.
It is worth mentioning that following the directives from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), civil defence organizations from across the country have organized mock drills during Operation Sindoor.
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