India defence mock drill today: Check air raids, sirens timings, which district category your city lies in- other details

As India faces escalating regional tensions, a massive nationwide mock drill, dubbed Operation Abhyas, is set to unfold across 244 locations on Wednesday, May 7. The civil defence exercise, directed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), comes in the wake of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack and is aimed at stress-testing the country’s preparedness for a full-scale war-like scenario with Pakistan.

The simulation will include air raid sirens, blackouts, evacuations, and emergency response drills. Officials say the primary goal is to bolster India’s Integrated Response System (IRS) and enhance citizen awareness about safety protocols during hostile attacks.

What will happen during the mock drill?

The MHA has detailed that drills will be held in both urban centres and rural districts to replicate various wartime conditions. Exercises will begin at 4 PM across most states, with some regional variations:

• Delhi: Mock drills between 4 PM and 7 PM.

• Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh): Complete blackout from 8 PM to 8:10 PM; citizens advised to switch off lights and avoid mobile use.

• Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh): Drill at Reserve Police Lines, beginning at 4 PM.

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• Kerala: Exercises across all 14 districts at 4 PM.

• Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh): Air raid simulation in Kotha Jalaripeta at 4 PM, followed by a 7 PM blackout.

• Dehradun (Uttarakhand): Sirens and hooters at 4 PM across five key locations, including Dhara Police Chowki.

• Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu): Drills at Madras Atomic Power Station and Chennai Port Trust from 4 PM to 4:30 PM.

The drill will be held across 259 locations in India, including metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. More than 100 of these locations have been identified as highly sensitive. 

Business Today cannot independently verify the report. The story will be updated if there are any changes. 

List of locations where the mock drill will take place on May 7

The drills are designed to engage all levels of civil defence—from local authorities to national agencies—and are considered critical given current geopolitical tensions. According to officials, the drill will include response mechanisms for both ground and aerial threats.

The Home Ministry emphasised that public cooperation is crucial, and all safety instructions issued by district authorities must be followed during the simulation. Authorities across the nation are expected to monitor the outcome of Operation Abhyas closely to assess India’s wartime readiness.

The drills will follow India’s targeted missile strikes early Wednesday, May 7, on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The precision operation, jointly executed by the Army, Air Force, and Navy, targeted terror hubs of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen — including JeM’s base in Bahawalpur and LeT’s headquarters in Muridke.