**Directorate of Civil Defense**, in coordination with the Government of NCT Delhi and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), conducted a massive **Civil Defense Mock Exercise** in all **13 districts** of the national capital on **Thursday, April 2, 2026**. The drill simulated an **enemy air attack** scenario to test and strengthen emergency preparedness amid heightened regional security concerns.
The exercise began at **8:00 pm** with **air strike alert**, which was activated through the Air Force and Regional Civil Defense Control Center (RCDCC). Subsequently, manual **air raid sirens** were sounded and **crash blackout measures** were implemented in selected areas for a short period of time (at some places around 8–8:15 pm). The drill was conducted simultaneously at **17 locations**, which included hospitals, educational institutions, residential complexes, government offices, shopping malls and public places; Such as Taj Palace Hotel, Delhi Cantonment General Hospital, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Nursing College and Omaxe Mall located at Chandni Chowk.
The main activities performed in the exercise were:
– Activation of emergency control rooms (RCDCC, State EOC and DDMA)
– Search and rescue operations
– Evacuating the injured and providing first aid
– fire extinguishing operations
– Establishing temporary medical aid centers
– Safely transporting people to designated safe/bunker areas
Multiple agencies participated in the drill: **Civil Defense Volunteers**, **Delhi Police**, **Delhi Fire Services**, **NDRF**, **Health Department**, **National Cadet Corps (NCC)**, **National Service Scheme (NSS)**, **Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)**, **Home Guards** and district administration. Thousands of civil defense volunteers and emergency response personnel participated, and there was enthusiastic awareness and cooperation from the public.
**Objectives** The main focus of the objective was to test the air raid warning systems, communication networks, blackout procedures, coordination between various agencies, response time, efficiency of evacuation and awareness of citizens towards safety rules in crisis situations.
The **comments** of the officials particularly highlighted the strong coordination between various agencies, prompt deployment of volunteers, effective enforcement of safety rules and positive response from the public. The exercise was carried out following a circular issued to all district magistrates and is a part of broader efforts to increase our resilience to emergencies or war-like situations. Detailed reports from the districts were to be submitted for further review by the authorities, including the Home Ministry.
Citizens have been advised to be aware of civil defense guidelines, cooperate during such exercises, and follow blackout and safety instructions in case of actual emergencies. There was no real danger involved; The objective of this exercise was purely preparation and capacity building.
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