The Delhi Disaster Management Authority, DDMA, conducted mock drill at 11 Delhi Metro stations on Saturday to check disaster preparedness. A statement issued by DDMA said, the exercise was to check the medical preparedness and response of government, private hospitals and ambulances services. It also offered training exercise for police control room vans, nurses in hospitals and other paramedical staff to be fully prepared for emergency.The Metro stations where the drill was conducted include Central Secretariat, Pitampura, Azadpur, Dwarka sector 11, Kirti Nagar, Karol Bagh, Noida City Centre and Guru Dronacharya station in Gurgaon.It was perhaps for the first time that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority undertook such a major exercise withoutmaking public the exact timing of the drill. Thousands of passengers were stranded at various metro stations and trains were delayed. But, constant announcements were made both on trains and at stations about the exercise. Trains stopped on tracks for over 45 minutes as the exercise was conducted. Mock incidents like bomb-blasts, strong earthquakes and terrorist strikes were enacted to check the response mechanism. Mock drills are regularly conducted at Metro premises to check preparedness to tackle different situations.