India, May 8 -- A fire in a building caused by an 'air strike' at Cross Maidan in South Mumbai saw civil defence volunteers, including NCC cadets, NDRF and NSS cadets converging at the site, cordoning off the area and evacuating people. Fire tenders and ambulances, sirens blazing, arrived in minutes. With speed and precision, fire fighters 'rescued' an individual 'stranded' on the fifth floor of the burning building.

Conducted at 4pm, this mock drill was part of Operation Abhyas (Operation Exercise), a nation-wide exercise to assess citizens' preparedness in the event of a war or war-like situation. Mock drills have been ordered across the country by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in light of escalating tensions between India and Pak...