Una, March 11: A mock drill was conducted today (Wednesday) at the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) LPG bottling plant in Raipur Sahodan (Mehtpur), Una district, under the joint aegis of the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority and the National Disaster Management Authority. The mock drill simulated emergency scenarios to rehearse the rapid response capability, coordination, and effectiveness of available resources for relief and rescue operations. Technical aspects of disaster management, as well as administrative arrangements, were also tested.

**Identifying technical and practical challenges**
SDM Una Abhishek Mittal stated that the purpose of this mock drill was to evaluate the district administration's emergency response plan and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the event of a disaster. During this, response times, potential gaps in coordination between various departments, and practical problems encountered at the field level were identified, so that corrective measures could be taken in the future to further strengthen the disaster management system.
He explained that industrial areas are prone to accidents such as gas leaks or fires. Therefore, to ensure public safety and minimize potential disaster losses, it is crucial for officials to understand their disaster management responsibilities, and for departments to be prepared and prepared, and to be prepared in advance. This mock drill proved very helpful in this regard.

**Scenario of the Mock Drill**
As part of the mock drill, the District Disaster Management Authority, Una, received information about a truck carrying LPG cylinders crashing into the IOCL plant at around 11 am. Upon receiving the information, all relevant stakeholders were immediately informed. IOCL representatives described it as a Level-3 fire accident, and a scenario was created in which five people were seriously injured. After providing first aid, the injured were transported to the Regional Hospital, Una, by ambulance.
As soon as the information was received from the District Disaster Management Authority, the officers and employees of various departments became active as per their respective responsibilities. During the entire incident, all the arrangements related to setting up of staging area, planning and logistics post, rescue operation, medical assistance on the spot, transporting the injured to hospital through ambulance and normalizing the situation were examined in detail.
On this occasion, Commandant of Home Guard 12th Battalion Una Hitesh Lakhanpal, Deputy Commandant Operation Dharmendra Thakur, Chief Plant Manager of IOCL Nitin Pandey, Fire Officer Una Suresh Kumar, Police Inspector Ankush Dogra, Coordinator of DDM Una Rajan and Dheeraj along with others were present.