Title - Mock disaster drills bring Delhi to halt

NEW DELHI: It was a bomb blast that most were prepared for. In a mock drill to check disaster preparedness of agencies in the city, all Metro trains came to a halt at 11am on Saturday. Commuters were given different reasons for it: bomb blast, earthquake and terror strike.The drill was conducted by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to identify gaps in disaster preparation, and check the coordination between different agencies. Thousands of passengers were stranded at Metro stations and trains were delayed due to the drill. Constant announcements were made on the trains and at stations."As opposed to drills in developed countries, we have to constantly make announcements here to avoid panic. We hope to reach a point when emergency drills can be done unannounced," said Delhi divisional commissioner Vijay Dev. The army is expected to submit a detailed report on the readiness of different agencies. "The aim is to find loopholes, which can prove costly during a real emergency," said D C Dev.Trains stopped on the tracks for over 45 minutes, as exercises were conducted at busy stations, including Karol Bagh, Dwarka Sector-11, Central Secretariat, Pitampura, Azadpur, Badarpur, Kirti Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Shahdara. Unlike real emergencies, all the services were already present near the Metro stations. Most Delhiites had been forewarned about the drill and just strolled out of the stations. Metro commuters said announcements were made before the drill actually began.