- By Sahelee Rakshit
- Tue, 06 May 2025 08:36 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bengal Mock Drill On May 7: West Bengal was urged to remain vigilant in light of the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, since it is a border state. The nation is set to hold a mock drill tomorrow, May 7, as an emergency preparedness measure. The Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and the Director General of the NDRF attended the meeting held by the Union Home Ministry on Tuesday.
The state was represented by DG Civil Defence Jagmohan, Disaster Management Secretary Rajesh Sinha, Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty, and Chief Secretary Manoj Pant.
There were home secretaries from a number of other states in addition to West Bengal.
The Centre said that the state must be ready for rescue operations and crisis management within the next seven days in the event of a war-like situation. It said that there should be a security drill.
According to a state official, this exercise would evaluate the preparedness of several emergency services, including hospitals, fire departments, ambulances, and rescue operations.
The Centre said that 17 districts in the state- Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Malda, the two Bardhamans, the two Medinipurs, Alipurduar, Murshidabad, the two Dinajpurs, Kalimpong, Kolkata, Birbhum, Howrah, and Hooghly- have been designated as sensitive and are being monitored.
The state government will choose where the mock drills will take place. The state must examine overall preparation and be ready for any potential wartime situation within seven days.
According to administrative sources cited by News18, the state has several sirens. There are 95 sirens in Kolkata alone. However, due to prolonged inactivity, many of them are presently non-functional.
Repairs and reactivation have been ordered immediately.