Taking stock of India’s civil defence infrastructure

Quick Response Team (QRT) of CRPF stands guard during high alert, amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, at Lal Chowk, in Srinagar
| Photo Credit:
PTI

As tension escalates along India’s northern borders, concerns over civilian safety have taken centre stage. Conflicts of this kind require strong shelter infrastructure, evacuation protocols, and emergency response systems.  

So, how does India score on these fronts?

Civilian shelter infra

While bunkers have been planned and constructed in Jammu and Kashmir, such infrastructure appears absent in other parts of the country.  

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government had planned to construct 9,905 bunkers in the Jammu Division at an estimated cost of ₹369.18 crore as of April 2023. Of these, 8,558 had been completed, while 1,347 were under construction. The Kashmir Division, with 244 planned bunkers costing ₹24.40 crore, had seen 236 completed and 8 under construction.

A release from the office of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, issued in June 2021 shows Rajouri leading with 2,664 completed bunkers, followed by Samba (1,595 completed bunkers), Kathua (1,527), and Poonch (953).

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)’s manual, major metropolitan areas, where population density makes emergency planning even more crucial, seem to lack designated nuclear or fallout shelters. Metro tunnels are unofficially seen as makeshift shelters but are not formally incorporated into emergency planning.

Such infrastructure should have been planned and built in advance. Retd. Major General Ranjan Mahajan points out, “The given infrastructure gets prepared over a period, and when a war kind of situation happens, you are not so concerned…We move people from dangerous or sensitive areas to these infrastructures, it’s called a planned evacuation.”

Civil defence drills

Operation Abhyaas, a nationwide civil defence mock drill conducted on May 7, 2025.

While the drills aimed to test emergency protocols across urban and rural areas, experts suggest the results were uneven. “Its effectiveness is patchy and the task of a single-day drill was too vast,” said Dr Manjor Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. “In some places, it’s been done well, but mostly nothing has happened. The only experience some people had was of blackouts and drills in some marketplaces and railway stations.”

However, communication remains a challenge in chaotic urban settings. Experts point out that sirens often go unheard amid the noise of Indian cities, while SMS alerts are undermined by rising misinformation. Traditional radio broadcasts, once a vital source during crisis, no longer enjoy the same reach or trust.

Food and water

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) recommends stocking non-perishable food, clean water, and essential emergency kits during disasters. However, India lacks nuclear-specific food stockpiles, relying on general strategic grain reserves.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) maintains large food grain reserves, with 4,26,35,376 metric tonnes currently stored in its godowns. These stocks are meant to ensure food security during disasters and have been used in the past during events like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published on May 9, 2025

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