How fast spectators should be evacuated from the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor in the event of an emergency amidst one of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup matches which it is set to host later this year?
After studying the structural plan of the stadium, FIFA ( Fédération Internationale de Football Association ) has said that spectators should be evacuated within eight minutes in the event of an emergency.
Realising the uphill task ahead of it, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), the custodian of the stadium, is all set to pull down the unauthorised enclosures along the corridors of the stadium that prevent the smooth exit of spectators from the lowest tier of the stadium to the ground floor. The agency is also looking at whether there were more such obstacles along the corridors.
GCDA chairman C.N. Mohanan said the pending works at the stadium as specified by FIFA would be completed by May 15. He said FIFA authorities expressed satisfaction about the progress of the works at a monthly review meeting of the task force held on Tuesday.
Firefighting works
Mr. Mohanan said that 25 to 30% of the crucial firefighting works had been completed and the rest were being completed at a rapid pace. “Works in the competition area and the first tier of the stadium have been completed while those in the second and third tiers and shops are in progress,” he said. The first lot of chairs to be erected at the stadium was expected by 25th of this month while fabrication works for their installation were under way.
Unclogging the sewage treatment plant of almost two decades of residue was in progress while electrical equipment to be fitted in the plant were being readied at Coimbatore. Works on high-mast lights had been completed.
Waste materials dumped in the stadium had been cleared by the GCDA after the Kerala Football Association and the Kerala Cricket Association failed to do it, Mr. Mohanan said.
He said the shortcomings in preparedness weren’t the reason behind the city not getting an opportunity to host a semi-final of the premier tournament. It was the lack of direct flight from Kochi to Kolkata, which hosts the finals. Navi Mumbai and Guwahati chosen for the semi-finals did not suffer from such a handicap. Mr. Mohanan said that tournament director Javier Ceppi told him this at the task force meeting.
Meanwhile, contractors’ association had accused the GCDA of sabotaging tender formalities in the erection of chairs in the stadium by ignoring the lowest bidder.
However, reliable sources said that the choice was made considering the previous experience of executing works in international stadiums.
“One cannot take chance with a first-timer in terms of work experience in an international stadium at a time GCDA was racing against time to get things ready,” sources said.
