New Delhi, May 6 -- The home ministry is ramping up preparedness with mock drills across 244 categorised districts in the country on may 7, testing everything from air raid warning sirens, to evacuation readiness to blackout measures as tensions with Pakistan continue to simmer in the backdrop of the Pahalgam attack in which 26 were killed.

The Union Home Minister on Monday, May 5, said in a letter to Chief Secretaries that the exercise aims to assess and enhance the readiness of Civil Defence mechanisms across states and Union Territories (UTs).

"In the current geo-political scenario, new and complex threats/challenges have emerged, hence, it would be prudent that optimum Civil Defence preparedness in the states/UTs is maintained at al...