The District Administration of Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir has announced a civil defence air raid and blackout mock drill scheduled for April 24, 2026. This exercise is part of a broader preparedness initiative mandated across the Union Territory by the Home Department and Higher Ground Civil Defence (HGCD) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) authorities.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that the drill will take place at Government Degree College Shopian. It will be conducted in two distinct phases: Phase-I, the mock drill itself, will commence at 2:00 PM, followed by Phase-II, a complete blackout simulation, running from 8:00 PM to 8:10 PM.
The directive mandates all district administrations to conduct coordinated civil defence drills with active participation from various stakeholders. The Executive Engineer of the R&B Division Shopian has been appointed as the Nodal Officer to oversee the entire exercise. Complementing this role, the Tehsildar Shopian will serve as the Liaison Officer within the Incident Response System (IRS), tasked with activating and coordinating response teams.
Key government departments have been instructed to ensure their active participation. This includes personnel from the Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Health Department, Civil Defence, SDRF, Power Development Department (PDD), Transport, and Municipal authorities. These departments are required to report to the designated venue by 12:30 PM to facilitate a smooth and efficient execution of the drill.
The comprehensive exercise aims to simulate critical emergency scenarios that could arise during an air raid or blackout. These scenarios include the sounding of air raid warnings, the implementation of blackout measures, evacuation procedures, search and rescue operations, and the coordination of emergency response efforts, all in strict accordance with established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
To mitigate potential public apprehension, the District Information Officer has been assigned the responsibility of ensuring widespread public awareness about the drill. This will be achieved through extensive dissemination of information via print and electronic media, as well as public announcements prior to the scheduled event. The goal is to inform the public and prevent any undue panic.
The Deputy Commissioner of Shopian, who also holds the position of Chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), has emphasized the importance of strict adherence to safety protocols. All officials involved have been directed to execute the drill in a controlled, coordinated, and safe manner. The SDRF and Civil Defence units are expected to deploy a significant number of personnel and volunteers to ensure the drill is conducted at a full-scale operational level, testing inter-agency coordination capabilities.
The Chenab Times News Desk