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A chemical emergency mock exercise was on Thursday conducted in off-site factories in 11 districts of the state and on-site factories in six districts in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Agency (SDMA).
NDMA Representative Brigadier BS Thakar, MD Dr BR Ambedkar, and Director of Factories, DSC Verma supervised the mock exercise from East India HPCL in Visakhapatnam. The exercise was organised by the Department of Factories. Several departments, including Revenue, Police, Health, and Transport, along with other officials participated in the exercise. NDMA representative Brigadier BS Thakar said through this mock exercise, the authorities will be aware of the shortcomings of how the industrial owners and the district administration can respond immediately to avoid loss of life and property in case of chemical disasters. Ambedkar said the Disaster Management Agency was focusing on natural and man-made disasters as well as chemical disasters. For this, early awareness programmes, precautionary measures and planning can reduce the level of chemical hazards, he added. He said the mock exercise will help reduce the level of risk and severity of chemical disasters. Along with officials, the people will also be aware of the local vigilance in case of an accident in a chemical factory and cooperate with the officials and support teams, Ambedkar said. Further, as a part of the exercise, it was demonstrated how to react and take action in case of a chemical accident in the factories. Fire crews came and extinguished the fire in the factory, NDRF and SDRF teams rescued the factory personnel, shifted local people to rehabilitation centres, organized medical camps, and directly arranged drinking water and other facilities. (ANI)
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