BHUBANESWAR: At 9.30am, local police and fire brigade got a call from Esplanade One mall near Rasulgarh square here on Thursday about a bomb explosion. After detecting radiation level by the fire brigade, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) were also called for help.Later staff of Odisha state disaster management authority (OSDMA) and civil defence along with mall staff swung into action for a mega rescue operation. A team of trained NDRF staff wearing chemical masks entered into the explosion area and controlled the hazardous radiation. They also helped to rescue mall staff and other people from the top floors of the gigantic building through ropes.The rescued people on stretchers were taken to nearby hospitals through ambulances. Finally, the mall’s manager told the rescue team that one of their staff is missing. NDRF engaged their dog squad to trace the missing staff inside the building. The squad finally located the man from a small chamber. After this the joint rescue team declared the operation is over.It was not real but a staged mock exercise conducted by joint team of NDRF, ODRAF, fire services, Odisha Police , OSDMA, Civil Defense and mall staff for an hour on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergency. Main purpose of this mock drill was to train the staff to tackle any eventuality related to CBRN disaster in their mall in future.Latest equipment, fire services vehicles, ambulances, dog squad and chemical masks clad NDRF staff confused passerby. They cannot understand what was happening in the mall and its outside. People initially assumed that fire broke out in the mall.Jacob Kispotta, commandant of NDRF’s third battalion at Mundali in Cuttack , said this exercise is important for every big establishment where hundreds of people go on a daily basis. “We have successfully conducted this exercise with the help of other stakeholders. This mock drill will help the mall staff to know how to react during an emergency,” he added.Parth Nayak, centre head of the Esplanade mall, said the exercise will immensely help them in future. “We had saved life of a person recently by conducting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him. It happened due to our training,” he added.

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