Andhra BJP president urges public to join civil defence mock drills

Andhra Pradesh BJP president D Purandeswari on Tuesday appealed to the people of the state, including BJP cadres, leaders, students, and volunteers, to come forward and participate in the mock drills planned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 7.

On Monday, the Home Ministry wrote to all chief secretaries of the states and union territories, informing them that a civil defence exercise and rehearsal would be conducted across 244 categorised civil defence districts in the country.

"Appeal to all citizens, BJP karyakartas (cadres) and leaders, students to come forward and volunteer. The MHA has directed all states to conduct mock drills on May 7 to ensure preparedness and effectiveness of civil defence mechanisms... Your participation will make all the difference," said Purandeswari in a post on 'X'.

According to the BJP leader, key components of the drill include activating air raid warning sirens, training civilians and students in self-protection during hostile attacks, and implementing crash blackout measures.

Other components include initiating early camouflage of critical infrastructure and updating and rehearsing evacuation plans.

The mock drills come in the backdrop of the April 22 terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 people, including two from the state.