Mock Drills in Karnataka on May 7: Locations Announced for Bengaluru, Raichur, and Karwar
Mock drills will be held in Bengaluru, Raichur, and Karwar on May 7 as part of a nationwide security preparedness exercise.
As part of a nationwide preparedness initiative following the April 22 terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed mock drills at 244 strategic locations across India on Tuesday, May 7. In Karnataka, these drills will take place in Bengaluru, Raichur, and Karwar.
Prashant Kumar Thakur, Director General of the Home Guards, Civil Defence, and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), confirmed that the mock exercises in these three cities will be completed by 4 PM.
Bengaluru, often dubbed India’s Silicon Valley, is home to major IT and biotechnology industries as well as key institutions like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Yelahanka Air Force Base, and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), making it a high-priority location.
In Raichur, the mock drill will focus on the Raichur Thermal Power Station — Karnataka’s first and a major contributor to the state’s electricity, generating approximately 70% of the total supply.
Karwar, on the west coast, is strategically significant due to the presence of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station — India’s third-largest nuclear facility — and the INS Kadamba naval base.
“These drills are a proactive measure to ensure our civil defence forces are alert and capable,” Thakur said, adding that such preparedness initiatives had become dormant after the 1971 Indo-Pak war but are now being revived under MHA directives. “We’ve been coordinating with MHA officials through video conferences to plan the drills.”
A senior police officer noted that Karnataka’s cities fall under Category B for the mock drills, meaning their exercises will be less intensive compared to those in border states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and West Bengal.
The drills aim to evaluate and strengthen coordination between local authorities, emergency services, and civil defence forces amid growing national security concerns.
