Air sirens will blow off in different parts of the country on May 7, civil defence services will be activated and civilians will be trained to protect themselves in the event of war as tensions between India and Pakistan stoop to new lows after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

On May 5, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a directive to the states to conduct mock drills on May 7 amid rising tensions with Pakistan. During the drills, air raid warning sirens will be activated, and civilians and students will be trained in civil defence to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack.

The other measures include provisions of a crash blackout, early camouflaging of vital plants and installations and updation of evacuation plans and their rehearsal.

WHY MOCK DRILLS?
The primary objectives of the mock drill are:

To assess the effectiveness of air raid warning systems.
Operationalisation of Hotline/Radio Communication Links with the Indian Air Force.
To test the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms.
Training of civilians, students, etc, on the civil defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of hostile attack.
Provision of crash black out measures.
Provision for early camouflaging of vital plants / installations
To verify the activation and response of Civil Defence services, including warden services, firefighting, rescue operations, and depot management.
To assess the implementation of crash blackout measures.
To evaluate the preparedness of evacuation plans and their execution
WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING MOCK DRILLS?
Operationalisation of Air Raid Warning Sirens
Operationalisation of Hotline/Radio Communication Links with the Indian Air Force.
Activation and Manning of Control Rooms / Shadow Control Rooms
Training of civilians, students, etc, on the Civil Defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of hostile attack.
Activation of Civil Defence Services, especially, warden services, firefighting, rescue service, depot, etc.,
Provision of crash black out measures
Provision for early camouflaging of vital plants / installations
Updation of CD Plan & its rehearsal: Updation of evacuation plan and its rehearsal and cleaning of bunkers, trenches, etc.
PM Modi has vowed to pursue the perpetrators and those part of the conspiracy to the "ends of the earth" to inflict punishment on them "beyond their imagination". The repeated warnings met with an equally strong reply from Pakistan, who warned of a "swift and notched-up response".

The PM has been holding a series of high-level meetings, including with top defence functionaries, as India weighs its options for countermeasures against the April 22 terror attack.