Mock drills: Here's the complete list of locations in Delhi

Sixty air raid sirens will blare across Delhi at around 4pm on Wednesday, signalling the start of “Operation Abhyaas”, a nationwide civil defence mock drill that will mobilise thousands of volunteers, police officers, rescue teams and bureaucrats in response to simulated hostile scenarios.

The drill will recreate a range of emergencies—from air raids and urban fires to casualty evacuations and temporary hospital setups—with an aim to test the national capital’s wartime readiness and civilian resilience. As part of the exercise, Delhi will see coordinated action at over 55 locations, five in each of the city’s 11 districts, officials aware of the plan said.

The event, organised under the aegis of the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), is part of a larger national plan to enhance civil defence preparedness in 244 towns and districts across India. A planning meeting on Tuesday brought together Delhi’s 11 district magistrates, officials from the Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), civil defence units, home guards, police, fire services, hospitals, and other civic bodies.

One of the DMs said the chosen drill sites span a mix of locations — markets, residential complexes, hospitals, and schools — to ensure all critical sectors are covered. Each district will deploy at least 100 Civil Defence Volunteers (CDVs), alongside police, fire officials, medics, and disaster response teams.

“The drill will begin with the sirens warning of an incoming air raid. This will trigger blackout procedures, communication with the Indian Air Force, activation of control rooms, and evacuation protocols,” said an official involved in planning. “The idea is to mimic a multi-layered crisis and test our coordinated response, not just as a formality but as a show of serious preparedness.”

Further, an official said a brief blackout has been planned at 7pm in the city. However, till late evening, officials part of the planning process did not confirm whether the blackout will be limited only to vital installations and buildings or will spread across the Capital.

The scenarios will simulate emergency evacuations, urban search and rescue operations, triaging of “casualties”, and sheltering civilians in temporary bunkers or demilitarised zones. In some cases, civilians will be guided to underground spaces like subways or reinforced structures, depending on availability.

“Operation Abhyaas is both a precautionary drill and a demonstration of intent—that civil preparedness is as crucial as military strategy in national security,” the official cited above added.

Teams across the Capital’s districts have been instructed to identify and prepare safe buildings and demilitarised zones for mock evacuations.

At least one hospital, government office, market and residential complex has been earmarked in each district, with the occupants being briefed hours before the exercise.

In parallel, the Delhi government has launched a large-scale safety training campaign in schools. Around 500–700 schools will participate, where DDMA and civil defence officials will teach students shelter protocols and emergency preparedness. These drills will occur earlier in the day, ahead of the main 4pm drill.

According to internal planning documents, accessed by HT, a total of 660 schools — 550 private and 110 government — along with 40 market and civilian locations, have been selected for this special training. The Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DoE) and DMs have been instructed to coordinate the sessions.

Educational institutions and youth groups such as NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan are also participating, as part of a broader effort to instill civic defence awareness among young citizens.

“The inclusion of students in Operation Abhyaas reflects a long-term strategy to build a culture of preparedness,” said another official. “Over 500 schools and colleges will be involved in some form.”

Officials, however, were keen to stress that the drill will not disrupt daily life. Markets, banks, schools and public transport will operate normally. Only the drill locations will be impacted. “The public should not panic. This is a preparedness exercise, not a real emergency,” an officer said.

A senior Delhi Police officer said a dedicated control room at the police headquarters on Jai Singh Road—the C4i (Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence) centre—will monitor the situation citywide. “The C4i room is connected to over 1,500 CCTV cameras installed before the G20 summit and will track movements, monitor suspicious activity, and coordinate with civil defence command centres,” the officer said.

Control rooms have been activated at multiple nodes across the city. Situation reports will be filed hourly from each district and compiled at the state war room for submission to the office of the Director General of Civil Defence. This feedback will help refine civil defence protocols and inform future policies.

The city is also preparing for long-term infrastructure upgrades. “It was decided to procure around 500 sirens to be installed permanently across Delhi to augment our air raid warning capabilities,” said an official part of the meeting with DMs.

A district-level officer said each government department has been assigned specific tasks for the drill. Once the sirens are sounded, emergency functionaries will treat mock casualties at the site, move them to designated hospitals, and guide civilians to bunkers or safe zones. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and standard operating procedures have been distributed to all volunteers.

An official overseeing the preparedness efforts said that while Delhi is familiar with disaster management during events like earthquakes and fires, Operation Abhyaas adds a crucial wartime preparedness dimension. “It forces us to rethink civilian safety protocols in conflict-like scenarios—how to maintain order, how to shelter civilians, how to support large-scale evacuations. These are questions we need to be ready to answer.”

Senior officials emphasized that the drill is not only a demonstration of coordination between government agencies, but also a signal to the public. “In a city like Delhi, with its geopolitical significance, civil defence must be seen as a shared responsibility. From schoolchildren to senior bureaucrats, everyone must be equipped to respond,” said a senior officer.

Feedback from the drill will feed into a larger review by MHA and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which will consider further changes in policy, training, and infrastructure.

“The idea is to create a sustainable, repeatable model for other cities as well,” said a planning official. “This is the most comprehensive civil defence rehearsal in recent history—and its success will shape the country’s preparedness posture for years to come.”

The mock drill also draws on the statutory authority of the Civil Defence Act, 1968, and related frameworks such as the Defence of India Rules, the Geneva Conventions Act of 1960, and the Union War Book of India. These laws and regulations form the backbone of India’s civil defence doctrine. The operation also aligns with international humanitarian standards under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols.

Here’s the full list of location where drills will be held across Delhi’s 11 districts:

North Delhi: G3S Cinema Mall, Sector 11, Rohini; Rohini Sector 18-19 Metro Station; Babu Jag Jivan Ram Hospital Jhangirpuri; M2K Victoria Garden, Azadpur; The Maan School, Holambi Khurd.

South Delhi: Select Citywalk Mall, Saket; Birla Vidya Niketan School Pushp Vihar; Sitaram Bharatiya Instititue of Science & Research, Mehrauli; Anupam Apartment, Saket; District Court Complex, Saket.

East Delhi: Maharishi Valmiki College of Education; Scope Minar; DM East Office; Kondli market; Sahyog Apartment, Mayur Vihar Phase-1.

West Delhi: District Magistrate’s office and MCD East Zone Office, Raja Garden; Rajouri Garden J-Block Market; DLF Capital Greens, Moti Nagar; SKV Mundka; DDU Hospital Hari Nagar

North West Delhi: Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh; House no. 156, Village Madanpur Dabas; City Centre Mall, Sector10 Rohini; Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalya Bus Stand, Main Chowk Bawana Road; DDA office Madhuban Chowk

South Delhi: West Vegas Mall; Nirmal Bharti Public School; NHAI Building; Dwarka Sector-10 Metro Station; BPCL Bijwasan

South East Delhi: DLF King Court, GK-2; Apollo Hospital; Central Market, Lajpat Nagar; GBSSS No. 1, Madanpur Khadar; Dy Director of Education Office, Defence Colony

New Delhi: T3, IGI Airport; Charak Palika Hospital; Khan Market; D-6 Residential Colony; Vasant Vihar Kendriya Vidyalaya 2 Delhi Cantt; NDMC Office Building

Central Delhi: MCD Civic Centre, Near Ram Leela Maidan; Govt Hospital Burari; Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant; RWA Prasad Nagar Karol Bagh; Chandni Chowk Main Market Near Town Hall

Shahdara: SKV Nand Nagri; ESIC Hospital Chota Bazaar; J/K Bl, Dil Garden; PWD pump house

North East Delhi: DM Office Complex Nand Nagri; VSAS Karawal Nagar, Veer Savarkar Bhagat Vihar; Seelampur Market; Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Yamuna Vihar; Govt Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya No. 1 C Block Yamuna Vihar