Army's Vajra Corps conducts mock exercise on CBRN disaster management

The Army conducted a two-day exercise at its Jalandhar Cantonment on managing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear disasters, an official statement said here on Wednesday. The exercise was conducted on October 16 and 17.

"Exercise Vajra Sahayata, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) disaster management exercise was conducted by Vajra Corps under the aegis of Western Command headquarters on October 16-17," the statement said.

A tabletop exercise was conducted on October 16, wherein the participating units from the Army and representatives of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Punjab State Civil Administration deliberated on the role, responsibilities, and present and future capability development of all stakeholders.


On October 17, various Army teams were mobilised as "second responders" to a chemical gas leak based on requisition by the state administration and deployed to mitigate the disaster. The state civil administration's capabilities and response structures were also validated, it said.

The exercise provided an opportunity for the Army to showcase its reaction and mitigation mechanism in concert with NDRF and the civil administration during such deadly disasters.

The participation of NDRF and SDRF teams ensured development of a coordinated and common response strategy. The exercise brought out important lessons that shall assist in ensuring a joint response mechanism and develop better synergy in the event of a CBRN disaster, the statement said.