Mock drill to test monsoon preparedness

The mock drill being carried out at Ramgopalpet, Secunderabad, on Wednesday.   | Photo Credit: By Arrangement

In a move to assess the readiness of officials for monsoon emergencies, a coordinated mock drill simulating a building collapse was carried out at around 3 p.m. at Ramgopalpet, Secunderabad, on Wednesday.

The exercise, led by the Telangana Integrated Command and Control Centre (TGICCC), was aimed at testing the effectiveness of inter-agency response under a real-time disaster scenario.

Officials of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda Police (Law & Order and Traffic), Fire Services, NDRF, GHMC, HMWS&SB, Health, SDMA, TGSPDCL, and Hyderabad District Collectorate, took part in the drill.

A TGICCC officer based at a library in Secunderabad triggered the exercise by making a distress call to Dial-112, reporting a collapse that left two people dead and 15 injured.

Emergency responders, including 108 ambulances, traffic police, and DRF units, arrived within 10 to 15 minutes, clearing access routes and commencing rescue operations. Fire tenders, SDRF, NDRF, and civic agencies followed soon after, reaching the site within 30 minutes to support relief efforts.

Senior officials from all participating departments oversaw the drill, while TGICCC and Multi-Agency Operations Centre (MAOC) teams tracked and recorded the entire sequence.

A post-drill review was held at the War Room of the centre to identify gaps, measure response time, and propose improvements. A report with photos and videos has been compiled to fine-tune standard operating procedures and improve training across agencies.

Director of TGICCC Kamalassan Reddy confirmed that such exercises will be conducted regularly to build institutional muscle to tackle crisis situations.

Published - June 05, 2025 08:17 am IST