Noida and Ghaziabad to hear sirens as NCR gets ready for emergency response drill

Time of India

a day ago

Noida: Emergency sirens will be activated at 10 locations across Noida and Ghaziabad on Friday as part of a nationwide Suraksha Chakra disaster preparedness exercise. The drill will simulate earthquake and chemical hazard scenarios, with NDMA and NDRF officials evaluating district response capabilities and coordination.
Sirens had gone earlier gone off in parts of Ghaziabad and other districts on May 7, a day before Operation Sindoor, as a part of a nationwide mock drill led by NDMA. In Ghaziabad emergency sirens were sounded near the Collectorate and other identified zones, prompting coordinated responses from civil defence units, police, and medical teams. Drills were also held in Noida as a district-level initiative. The drill simulated an air attack scenario, with mock evacuations, triage of 'victims', and rapid deployment of response teams.
The upcoming exercise, which will begin at 9am, will be conducted simultaneously across 18 NCR districts.
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Noida will conduct its drill at the Govt Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida, Savitri Bai Phule Girls Inter College in Dadri, Vikas Bhawan, LG Electronics India Ltd, and AWHO Township in Gurjinder Vihar.
ADM (finance/revenue) Atul Kumar said, "Departments have been directed to be on-site before the drill begins and ensure that all arrangements are in place—from route maps and ambulances to communication systems and rescue tools."
District magistrate Medha Roopam also reviewed preparations on Thursday and emphasised that the mock drill is not just a formality but a real-time test of inter-departmental coordination and on-ground readiness.
In GB Nagar, the District Emergency Operation Centre (DEOC) at the Collectorate has been designated as the main communication hub. The DM's office will act as the command post. Sharda Hospital will serve as the medical camp, and Malakpur Sports Stadium has been marked as the relief camp.
The drill will involve multiple agencies, including police, fire services, civil defence, health teams, municipal staff, and disaster volunteers. Five incident commanders have been deployed to lead operations at each location.
In Ghaziabad, the five identified sites are Ingraham Inter College, VVIP Addresses Society in Rajnagar Extension, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation's Loni plant, District Joint Hospital in Sanjay Nagar, and Modinagar Tehsil Bhawan.
"This is a community effort," said Saurabh Bhatt, ADM (finance/revenue), Ghaziabad. "Residents, hospital staff, and govt employees posted at the identified buildings will be part of the drill. The idea is to involve the people who would actually be at risk during a real emergency. The exercise will include evacuation, first aid response, coordination with emergency teams, and more."
Bhatt added that the warning sirens will be triggered manually using portable public announcement systems.
"PA equipment will be taken to each location to simulate the alert mechanism. The drill needs to feel real, especially for first responders and residents. We'll be judged on how well we coordinate and respond under pressure," he said.
In Ghaziabad, the District Disaster Management Authority and the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at the Collectorate have been designated as the main control room for the mock drill. The Police Line Ground will serve as the staging area.