Una, June 3 - Deputy Commissioner Una Jatin Lal has said that in order to ensure effective relief and rescue operations in case of any disaster, deep coordination and active participation among all the concerned departments is very important. He said that the mega mock drill to be held in the district on June 6 is being done to fulfill this purpose.
He was speaking during the table top exercise organized before the mock drill with the officials related to disaster management in the NIC video conferencing auditorium on Tuesday.
Let us tell you, on June 6, a state level mega mock exercise is being organized across the state, in this sequence a mock drill will also be held in Una. The mock drill is being organized by the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority. This exercise will be specifically based on hypothetical disaster scenarios like earthquake.
The Deputy Commissioner said that this exercise is an important opportunity to assess the preparedness of the district administration, departments and the general public to deal with emergencies. On this occasion, Director of State Disaster Management Authority, D.C. Rana reviewed the preparations of the district through video conferencing from Shimla and gave necessary guidelines.

Mock drill will be held at these places-
The Deputy Commissioner said that this mock drill will be organized in various sub-divisions of the district, where relief and rescue activities will be practiced based on different hypothetical disaster situations. A situation of fire and structural damage in the petroleum bulk storage unit at IOCL terminal located at Pekhubela in Una sub-division has been envisaged, while there will be a scenario of fire and structural damage in the building at Government Industrial Training Institute (students), Una.
The situation of landslide at Pindi Das Ashram and Eye Hospital located on Amb-Nehria Road in Amb sub-division will be taken as the basis. Similarly, the incident of fire at AK Puri HP Petrol Pump on Gagret-Hoshiarpur Road in Gagret subdivision and structural damage and fire of factory building at Nestle India Limited premises at Tahliwal in Haroli subdivision have been envisaged.

The disaster management staff will become active as soon as the siren sounds, focus will be on immediate response-
On receiving the message regarding the earthquake disaster envisaged from the state headquarters on June 6, the hooter will sound in the Deputy Commissioner's office, after which fire brigade vehicles will leave with sirens at the identified places and immediate response will be given as per the disaster management plan prescribed in every subdivision.
The Deputy Commissioner has also urged the citizens to practice the necessary precautions in case of a disaster like earthquake during the mock drill. He said that as soon as the siren sounds, primary precautions like going under a strong table or furniture and covering the head with hands and reaching the open space safely should be practiced.

Every department will play a specific role-
The Deputy Commissioner said that active participation of all the concerned departments has been ensured in this state level exercise. As per the disaster management plan, every department has a prescribed role, which they will discharge. At the same time, supervisors appointed by the State Disaster Management Authority will monitor all the procedures during this exercise.
During the table top exercise, Superintendent of Police Amit Yadav, Chief Medical Officer Dr. CK Verma, SDM Haroli Vishal Sharma, SDM Gagret Saumil Gautam, Assistant Commissioner Varindra Sharma, Home Guard Commandant Dr. Vikas Saklani and officers of various departments were present in the NIC room of the Deputy Commissioner's office.