Volunteer’s death during mock drill: Kerala government orders probe
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 30: The Kerala government on Friday ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of a man while taking part in a mock drill organised by the Disaster Management Authority in a river in Pathanamthitta.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave a direction to Chief Secretary V P Joy in this regard, a CMO statement said.
As directed by the Chief Minister, Pathanamthitta District Collector Divya S Iyer submitted a preliminary inquiry report with regard to the incident, it said.
Binu Soman (34), who acted as a volunteer in the drill organised to assess the disaster management agencies' preparedness to deal with floods, was seen drowning at Manimala river near Keezhvaipur on Thursday.
Though the man was rescued and admitted to a private medical college hospital in Thiruvalla by the officials, who took part in the mock drill, he later died on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) registered a case into the tragic death and sought a report from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and the District Collector on the incident.
The case was registered based on a complaint lodged by a human rights activist.
The complainant alleged that if the rescue personnel had arrived on time, the life of the deceased man could have been saved.
The mock drill, without taking any precaution, was a gross violation of human rights and action should be taken against the officials who were responsible for the tragic death of the man, he further said in the complaint.
V K Beena Kumari, member, KSHRC, directed the head of the SDMA and the Pathanamthitta District Collector to submit an explanation report within the next 15 days after examining the circumstances that had led to the tragedy, an official statement here said.
The Commission would take further action after receiving the report, it added.
Mock drills were held at various places in Pathanamthitta district on Thursday as part of assessing the disaster management team's preparedness to deal with floods and landslides.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
