ITANAGAR, 4 Aug: A civil defence mock drill will be conducted at Dera Natung Government College here, along with a city-wide emergency preparedness exercise, on 8 August between 8 pm and 9 pm.

The exercise is aimed at assessing the preparedness and coordination among various government departments, security forces, emergency services and the public during emergency situations, ICR DC Toko Babu said in a release.

As part of the drill, an air raid siren will be sounded at 8 pm, followed by a 15-minute blackout across the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) from 8 pm to 8:15 pm.

Police and fire service vehicles fitted with sirens and the Itanagar smart city public address system will simultaneously sound their sirens as part of the exercise.

Traffic diversions may be enforced and movement of vehicles regulated to facilitate emergency response operations.

Essential services such as hospitals, police establishments, emergency services and the control room will remain exempted from the blackout, the release said.

Citizens have been advised to switch off all lights, remain indoors, avoid panic, and cooperate with the district administration and emergency response agencies.

The DC urged citizens not to panic and to extend their full cooperation during the exercise.

In West Kameng district, the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders for the civil defence blackout mock drill on 8 August were discussed in detail during a coordination meeting at the DC’s conference hall in Bomdila on Tuesday.

Participants shared their suggestions and inputs to ensure effective conduct of the mock drill during the meeting, which was chaired by Deputy Commissioner Dr Dilip Kumar.

Superintendent of Police Dorjee Wangdi Thongon, heads of departments, and representatives from the NDRF, SDRF, NSS and NCC attended the meeting. (DIPROs)