New Delhi: Close to 300 'civil defence districts' with sensitive installations like nuclear plants, military bases, refineries, and hydroelectric dams will be covered by mock drills on air-raid warning sirens, civilian training for a "hostile attack" and cleaning of bunkers and trenches.

As the tensions escalate between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack, the Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered to conduct mock drills in the states, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The development came as security has been tightened in the country following the April 22 terror attack in which 26 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

“We are reviewing preparedness. Loopholes to be rectified," a member of the National Disaster Management Authority was quoted as saying, after the MHA meeting.

According to the directive of the Home Ministry, the May 7 drill will focus on several key activities aimed at enhancing civil defence readiness across urban and rural areas.

The Union government has asked all states to conduct mock drills across the 244 civil defence districts in view of “new and complex threats" that have emerged in the “current geo-political scenario".

In border states such as Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, security drills will take place at many places. One of the key components of the drill would be to conduct checks on the air raid warning system.

“It is the first step that warns civilians in an emergency situation. The Air Force sounds the alert, and each district must ensure that its air raid warning sirens are functioning properly," a civil defence official said. Blackouts will also be practised during the May 7 mock drills, he said.

The order came amid a series of high-level meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to discuss India’s retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack.