A Civil Defence Siren placed on top of a building ahead of nationwide civil defence mock drill on 07 May 2025
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MURALI KUMAR K
Civil Defence mock drills were held in important industrial and commercial installations across Gujarat including in Ahmedabad district where Tata Motors plant at Sanand and Torrent Power Plant at Sabarmati, were among the locations were the drills were held, official sources said Wednesday.
While Ahmedabad is one of the 18 districts in Gujarat where the mock drills and blackouts were conducted, an official statement from the state government said nine places in Ahmedabad district have been chosen for conducting the civil defence mock drills. Apart from the Tata Motors and Torrent Power installations in the district, the drills will be conducted at Pirana Substation Powergrid, Vatva GIDC (industrial estate), and Palladium Mall in Ahmedabad city. Similar drills will also be conducted at Gallops Industrial Park, Viramgam Tank Farm, Dhandhuka municipality and Ganeshpura temple.
The mock drill was conducted in a total of 19 districts of Gujarat including the districts of Jamnagar and Devbhumi Dwarka that houses the world’s largest single-site refinery of Reliance Industries and the oil refinery of Nayara Energy at Vadinar, respectively. Similarly drills were also conducted at Vadodara district — that houses IOC’s Gujarat Refinery — and at Tapi district that houses the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station. Drills will also be conducted at Gandhinagar — the state capital and in districts of Bharuch, Surat, Bhavnagar, Kutch, Patan, Banaskantha, Gir Somnath, Mehsana, Navsari, Narmada, Morbi and Dangs.
At the Palladium mall in Ahmedabad city, officials from the municipal corporation, fire brigade, civil defence officials and police department conducted a mock drill wherein the authorities tried to create awareness with regard to the steps to be taken in event of an air strike or enemy attack. The demonstrations included warning sirens, steps for evacuation, shelter, movement of injured and removal of debris.
As part of the drill, a blackout is also planned to be observed from 7:30 pm onwards for 19 of the 33 districts of Gujarat.
Published on May 7, 2025