Hyderabad Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao on Friday emphasised the importance of conducting mock exercises on floods and industrial accident disasters by involving all stakeholders.

Referring to recent years, the Chief Secretary said Telangana has witnessed sudden floods triggered by unexpected and unexplained weather conditions. He also noted that the state has experienced a few major industrial accidents. Urging officials to take the exercise seriously, Ramakrishna Rao instructed all participating departments to strengthen skills, resources and response mechanisms to effectively meet future challenges. He appreciated the guidance and coordination extended by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in organising the mock exercise.

The mock drills will be conducted on December 22, covering two scenarios—floods and industrial accidents.

Participating in a video conference organised by the NDMA, the Chief Secretary said the primary objectives of the exercise are to test and enhance preparedness at the state, district and departmental levels; operationalise the Incident Response System; improve inter-departmental coordination and assess the effectiveness of Emergency Support Functions, along with the roles of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), TG ICCC, SDRF, District Collectors and other agencies concerned. The meeting was also attended by Vikram Singh Mann, DG Telangana Fire Disaster Response Emergency and Civil Defence Department, Lieutenant General Ata Hussain, Member NDMA, Major General Sudhir Bahl and others.