Civil Defence mock drills conducted across India

Police and volunteers conducted mock drills across the country to help the public prepare for emergency scenarios amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. The drills are scheduled to begin countrywide on May 7, 2025, and likely continue until May 9, 2025, involving around 400,000 volunteers from the Directorate General of Civil Defence under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry had asked all states to conduct the drills on Wednesday, citing new and complex threats. The exercises include operationalising air‑raid warning signs, evacuation plans, and training civilians on civil defence measures in the event of a hostile attack. States have been instructed to activate control rooms, firefighting and warden services, and to clean bunkers and trenches. Bunkers are common in border villages, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, to shield civilians from cross‑border firing. For the last ten days, the Pakistani Army has engaged in unprovoked firing posts across the Line of Control, and the Indian Army has responded promptly and proportionately.