Navi Mumbai, April 9 The Navi Mumbai International Airport concluded a two-day "Multi-Agency Disaster Preparedness Exercise" on Thursday to evaluate the operational readiness of the new greenfield airport, Navi Mumbai, in dealing with natural or technical disasters.
Organized under the joint aegis of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), the exercise saw active participation from various central and state government agencies, demonstrating a high level of emergency preparedness, NMIA said.
The two-day program began with a comprehensive "Tabletop Exercise," which involved detailed discussions on strategic planning and inter-departmental coordination during a crisis.
This was followed by a demonstration of state-of-the-art rescue equipment and specialized vehicles essential for life-saving operations.
The core of the exercise was a "Full-Scale Mock Drill" designed to evaluate real-time responses, including the safe evacuation of people, search and rescue operations, hazard management, and the effective activation of emergency operation centers (EOC).
The simulation involved a highly complex "multi-hazard" situation, encompassing challenges such as a cyclone, fire incidents, and the leakage of hazardous radioactive materials.
Under these demanding conditions, the agencies underwent rigorous testing on various parameters, including hazard control, fire suppression, evacuation of citizens from multi-story buildings, the efficiency of communication systems, resource mobilization, and ensuring overall security at the site, the airport operator said.
Dinesh Kumar Aswal and Major General Ajay Verma from NDMA also attended the mock exercise.
It also saw active involvement from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Airports Authority of India (AAI), Armed Forces, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
In addition, local and technical bodies such as the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Panvel Municipal Corporation, CIDCO, Central Industrial Security Force, Fire Brigade, Civil Defence, Aapda Mitras, and the state health department.
To ensure immediate medical assistance during the drill, specialized teams from some leading hospitals were stationed on site, NMIA added.