Disaster Management Drill in Mumbai city in Dec

Mumbai: A seven-day drill to check the city's disasterpreparedness is
scheduled to be held in December with international experts assessing the
city's response to natural as well as manmade disasters.
   Dubbed the Mumbai Emergency Management Exercise (MEMEX 2010), the drill
will test preparedness at schools, public places and hospitals.
   At the local level, the BMC and the newly formed National Disaster
Management
Authority will manage the drill. However, the entire operation, costing Rs 8
lakh, will be funded by the Unicef as well as the UNDP and Harvard
University.
   Details of the drill were finalized at a meeting chaired by chief
secretary J P Dange on Tuesday. According to Mantralaya officials, the drill
will start with an emergency one at Shivaji Park in the first week of
December.
   "We will hold emergency drills in schools and judge trauma response at
simulated disaster sites as well as hospitals. A tabletop workshop on
disaster management will also be held,'' an official said, adding that the
Kalina university campus as well as NMIMS in Andheri will also be venues for
the drill.
   This will be the third disaster drill to be organized in the city.