Chennai, 11 May

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday said civil defence mock drills to check the preparedness in vital installations will continue next week in the state, and would be held at major reservoirs.

On the advice of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), such exercises had already been conducted in vital installations like ports, Atomic Power Stations, Airports and Thermal Power Stations across Tamil Nadu starting May 7, an official release here said.

On Saturday, mock drills were held at V O Chidambaranar Port Authority and Thoothukudi Thermal Power Station, both in Thoothukudi district. An air raid was simulated to check the preparedness of the civil defence system to handle a war kind of emergency. Protection, safe evacuation and first aid were rehearsed during this civil defence mock exercise.

"Civil defence mock exercise will continue next week covering the major reservoirs of WRD (Water Resources Department) across Tamil Nadu. The officials concerned will hold a Table Top Exercise initially and the District Collectors/Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation will conduct on-site civil defence mock drills in select areas in the second half of the week," it added.

The civil defence exercise is only a mock drill to check the preparedness in the selected vital installations. All other functions in other places will go on normally and there is no need for any panic or apprehension among the public about this exercise, the release said.

Such drills are being held in the aftermath of the 22 April terrorist attack in Pahalgam, even as India launched retaliatory strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) early on Wednesday.