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

Lack of Emergency Drills in the Cities

Mock Emergency Drill: Starts from School
Precious lives can be saved if timely help can be rendered to the injured and wounded in an emergency. Do the city officials have emergency drills worked out? Are citizens warned and trained for emergency situations? Do we have a traffic control system, instead of clogging all roads and citizens running helter skelter as seen (TV broadcasts) in the recent Bomb Blasts? We need emergency drills and periodically practised/ rehearsed to ensure lives are not lost due to lack of mobilising our skills and resources at the right time to reduce the impact. Do the Intelligence agencies possess the "Threat Perception Level" state wise? How is information shared with the citizens and local state police? What are the response systems brought to action during emergency? Are we groping in the dark? Shouldn't the Intelligence Agencies be made accountable for internal security of the Nation as well? Should the nation accept failures?

The law and order situation needs to be drastically improved to defeat miscreants and terrorist activities. Rampant illegal parking of cyclists, motorcyclists, four wheelers and other vehicles near crowded areas in the cities is the root cause for easy positioning of bombs to cause loss of precious lives and material damages. Over crowded buses is yet another easy target.

The Police and Citizens need to evolve a better communication system so that any suspicious activity reported is quickly investigated and culprits apprehended. It is the duty of every citizen to be vigilant, disciplined and proactive in pinning down the terrorists before they strike.
Nearly 200 dead in 8 terror attacks in India in the last two years
29 dead, 100 wounded in India serial blasts