The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) organised a mock exercise at Vidhana Soudha Metro Station on Saturday from 11 a.m. for about one hour to get all concerned familiarised with the procedures in case of any Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, and Nuclear Material (CBRN) attacks.
According to BMRCL, all connected government organisations such as NDRF, SDRF, police, and health services participated. The public was kept informed about the mock drill through public announcements.
“During the mock exercise, non-harmful coloured fumes using chemicals were generated on the station premises, creating a scenario similar to that of a smoke bomb. Some metro railwaymen nominated as passengers pretended to have fainted, and a few of them ran for help. Station authorities informed the Central Command and Security Surveillance for the intervention of the Disaster Management Organisation since the smoke was spreading and uncontrollable. Entry of passengers into the stations was stopped, and passengers inside the station were notified to hurriedly get out of the station,” the release stated.
Meanwhile, the train operators were informed not to stop the trains at the station. The safe automatic feature of shutting down the air-conditioner of the station and smoke extraction was activated. The Station Security Team rescued the affected persons after adopting personal safety measures, BMRCL said.
In the drill, emergency response teams from State Health Services, State Fire Services, City Civil Police, and NDRF rushed to the station for rescue and decontamination. “NDRF team took control of the operation and rescued the severely affected passengers. They sealed the chemical container and decontaminated the area. After clearance from NDRF, train services resumed,” BMRCL explained.
