‘Operation Abhyaas’ puts Hyderabad’s emergency response to test

Personnel from the Telangana Fire, Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence department, police and other departments guiding a person scaling down an apartment using a rope, as part of Operation Abhyaas at an apartment in Secunderabad, on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

As sirens blared across parts of Hyderabad at exactly 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Operation Abhyaas, the city’s biggest civil defence mock drill in recent memory, got underway, cutting through an afternoon of confusion caused by fake news claiming the event had been called off. A timely statement from the Cyberabad Police put the rumours to rest, confirming that the drill would go ahead as planned.

The exercise aimed to test the city’s preparedness for large-scale emergencies, mobilising disaster response teams, police, fire services and medical staff across four sites, including Mayflower Apartments at Mallapur Crossroad in Nacharam, Avalon Apartments in Nanal Nagar, Mehdipatnam, A.R. Mani Residency in Aswini Colony, West Marredpally, and BPS Twin Towers at Santosh Nagar Crossroads in Kanchanbagh.

Across the designated buildings, residents were ‘rescued’ by teams in bunker gear and evacuated to designated shelters. Temporary medical camps were set up to simulate emergency care, while critical ‘patients’ were shifted to a private hospital in the vicinity.

Residents said that they were briefed only the night before and in some cases, early on Wednesday by officials from various departments, and a quick rehearsal followed.

At 4.15 p.m., a simulated bomb blast signalled the beginning of rescue operations. Emergency vehicles rushed in, and stretchers were carried out, all under the watch of intrigued residents.

Minutes before the siren went off, Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand confirmed that the drill was part of a broader strategy involving GHMC, Fire Services, NDRF and others. “Operation Abhyaas is about being mentally and physically ready,” he said. Addressing the fake news and rumours, the Commissioner said that all communication will be routed through the Integrated Command Control Centre (ICCC). “Social media teams must act fast. The medical wings across the city are expected to be on duty 100%. The NDRF, SDRF must keep their equipment serviced and ready. Officers have been looped into WhatsApp groups for real-time alerts. Every reportable incident, however minor, must be flagged,” he said.