Friday, December 12, 2008

Army Rescues Pilgrims: Do we have a crisis management structure in place?

Portions of the ladder leading to the Geparnath Mahadev temple, near Kota, that collapsed

All the pilgrims stranded at the Gaiparnath Shiva cave temple in Kota, Rajasthan, have been rescued with the help of Army jawans on Monday. Two persons, both engineering students have been killed in the incident. Nearly 135 pilgrims, including 35 women and 20 children were stranded when the serpentine stairway to the temple collapsed on Sunday evening.

The incident took place when the stairway (cantilever type ladder, supported from one end) collapsed due to heavy rush of pilgrims and landslide due to heavy rains in the area. The 16th century famous Gaiparnath Shiva temple in the cave, a favourite tourist spot of the region, is situated on the foothills of Chambal ravines, about 25 km from Kota on the Rawatbhata road. The district administration rushed to the spot and rescue operations were started under the supervision of district collector Abhay Kumar and superintendent of police Vishal Bansal. As the rescue operations were stopped during the night, food packets were provided to the stranded people. Women and children were rescued first.

Army jawans used three heavy cranes summoned from the Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant (RAPP) and five fire tenders to rescue the people from the cave. IAF helicopters were also flown from Jodhpur to assist the rescue team.
Kota: Stranded pilgrims rescued

Do we have Natural Disaster, Technological, and Other Emergencies Structure in place like in other countries? Does the Nation/ states periodically rehearse emergency crisis management drills? Mumbai Mayhem has exposed our weak flanks aptly fuelled by bureaucrats! Have we learnt lessons from the past?
Departmental Emergency Programs

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