Mall-function: At Select Citywalk in south Delhi, defence drill fails to hit the mark

NEW DELHI: A security drill simulating the aftermath of an airstrike was conducted on Wednesday evening at Select Citywalk Mall in Saket. The aim was to test coordination among emergency services and assess public readiness. What unfolded, however, left more questions than answers.The drill was scheduled to begin at 4pm but commenced only around 4.40pm. A total of 39 civil defence volunteers (CDVs), including 15 women, were deployed alongside police officers, one fire tender, an ambulance and a medical team from Delhi govt consisting of two doctors and a nurse. An SDM was also present to oversee proceedings.The core narrative of the drill - a sudden airstrike and a subsequent rescue operation - never found a clear expression. Many visitors said there was no siren or any identifiable start to the emergency."I came here to shop and many like me didn't even realise the drill had started," said Neelu (40), a local resident. "There were so many announcements about it being 'just a drill' before the actual drill, so people just left. We need to take these things seriously. In real life, we won't get a heads-up to be able to evacuate. I feel very underprepared."While those outside the mall were asked to evacuate before the drill, the situation inside remained ambiguous. Around 4.10pm, an informal evacuation began, but without any clear declaration of the airstrike scenario. Shoppers were left to interpret the repeated, muffled announcements that this was "just a drill", messages drowned out by music still playing in lobbies and retail outlets. The confusion was not limited to customers.Volunteers and staff seemed equally unsure.Before the siren or airstrike announcement, some of the 'casualties' - two 'dead' and seven 'injured' - had already been brought out on stretchers by civil defence volunteers.Inside the mall, the atmosphere continued to remain mostly unshaken: ambient music played in stores, shoppers moved casually from one display to the next, and public announcements regarding the drill barely rose above the background soundscape. "It was hard to understand whether anything serious was happening at all," said Khushi (19), a DU student."Nothing about the airstrike was communicated. People didn't know what to do, it didn't seem like an emergency, so we just continued shopping," she added.At Saket court, a drill had been scheduled, but it did not take place. Meanwhile, an emergency scenario involving a fire and explosion was simulated at Vegas Mall in Dwarka. At Birla Vidya Niketan, a school in Pushp Vihar, the drill proceeded smoothly. With only administrative staff on-site and no students, the premises were already cleared in advance. Seven simulated casualties were handled. About 50 CDVs checked three empty floors of the school building with measured precision.