Now, disaster-preparedness of Thrissur Pooram to be reviewed

Though the safety aspects at the Thrissur Pooram rests with the other government agencies, the SDMA will intervene to reactivate the safety network.

April 10, 2016 02:41 pm | Updated April 11, 2016 08:19 am IST - KOCHI

Pyrotechnic display forms major part of the celebrations at the Thrissur Pooram. Photo: K. K. Najeeb

Pyrotechnic display forms major part of the celebrations at the Thrissur Pooram. Photo: K. K. Najeeb

Following the disaster at the Paravur temple in Kollam, concerns are now being raised about safety at festivals, including Thrissur Pooram, where a pyrotechnic display forms major part of the celebrations.

The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) will revisit the disaster preparedness at Thrissur where elaborate fireworks have been planned. The SDMA is also planning to re-issue the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) For Festival Disasters, which the Institute of Land and Disaster Management had brought out in March last year, Sekhar L. Kuriakose, the member secretary of the SDMA said.

Though the safety aspects at the Thrissur Pooram site rests with the other government agencies, the SDMA will intervene to reactivate the safety network in the view of the Kollam accident. The authorities concerned will be apprised of the need for ensuring the safety guidelines and SOP, he said.

The SOP, which contained the guidelines and for the safety in religious mass gatherings, if followed in its letter and spirit, would have averted the risks significantly, said Faizal T. Illiyas, the lead author the document.

Ideally, there should be a distance of 100 metres between where the fireworks are set off and the spectators, which would reduce the accident risk considerably. However, at Kollam, the primary inference is that the distance was less than 50 metres, Mr. Illiyas said.

Even thought the SOP was issued after holding elaborate consultations, it could not be notified as an act or rule. If notified and incorporated into relevant legislations, it would have given more teeth to the enforcement agencies, he said.

Going by the provisions of the Explosives Rules, permission needs to be obtained seven days before the pyrotechnic event. By that time, the organisers would have completed all arrangements for the event, including the selection of the contractor and the preparation of pits from where the crackers would be set off. There would be little scope for correction and introduction of safety measures.

As every festival would be planned well in advance, the organizers should seek for permission for pyrotechnique events without waiting for the last one week, he suggested.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.