In a bid to bolster emergency readiness, schools across Delhi conducted a large-scale safety drill on Wednesday, May 7.
Students and teachers actively engaged in various preparedness exercises, simulating real-life emergency scenarios to ensure swift and effective responses during potential crises.
The safety drill began with a siren, which prompted students to switch off all electrical appliances and take cover under their desks or near walls, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Once the siren ended, children were asked to place their school bags over their heads and calmly moved to a designated safe area and in another situation, all the children were asked to hide under the desks.
Various schools in Delhi participated in a mock drill schools such as Modern Public School in Shalimar Bagh, Amity School in Saket, Tagore International School in East of Kailash, and Delhi Public School (DPS) Vasant Kunj participated in these drills under the Delhi government's initiative Operation Abhyaas.
Speaking on the drill, Dr Alka Kapur, Principal of Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh said, "In line with the Indian government's initiative to strengthen national readiness following recent airstrike reactions and terror threats, our students actively engaged in the simulation learning; how to seek shelter, extend first aid, assist peers, and respond calmly during any such crisis."
"This preparation will give them more insight into disaster protocols, while also developing their civic responsibility and togetherness," she added."
"We thank the Directorate of Education, Delhi, for mandating this awareness programme, and we stand firm to ensure a safe, alert, and prepared school environment," she further added.
At Amity School in Saket, Principal Divya Bhatia said the exercise began at 8.45 am with a briefing during the morning assembly.
"We explained the purpose of the mock drill and the steps students needed to follow. After the briefing, we conducted the drill so they could understand the process in a hands-on manner," she said.
Initially, the younger students took it as a fun activity. There were students who thought they were being punished when they were asked to raise their hands against the walls.
Tagore International School in East of Kailash guided students by showing them an instructional video provided by the Education Department.In alignment with the national directive, the Delhi Disaster Revenue department of the Delhi government had issued official orders on Tuesday late evening, urging the Delhi Directorate of Education to issue an advisory to all the city schools to conduct awareness programmes and basic drills for hostile threat preparedness.
The advisory stated, "These programmes are aimed at educating students and staff about safety protocols during civil emergencies such as air raids, sabotage threats or any hostile situations."
