District Police Chief (Kochi City) Vijay Sakhare has termed as baseless the allegation that the protocol for evacuation of families from the exclusion zone of the implosion sites was not followed.
“The entire information regarding the demolition and evacuation was not only put on the digital platform, including social media, but hard copies of instructions were also distributed to all households. On Friday, there was a drill, and on Saturday morning, the residents were informed of the evacuation, and it was broadcast over radio as well,” said Mr. Sakhare.
He added that the municipality had conducted awareness campaigns over the past several days. “We also sent evacuation parties in the morning [Saturday] to check whether anyone was left out since we had anticipated that there would be a few splinters within the 50-metre radius and wanted to ensure their personal safety,” said Mr. Sakhare.
He said all efforts were made for proper evacuation, and that the police had not come across even a single complaint. People cooperated and supported the operation greatly because of which we could carry it out with clockwork precision. Everyone was out of their homes by 9 a.m. and had there been some resistance, they would not have cooperated,” Mr. Sakhare added.
Riyas Kadavil, a resident who had complained about lacunae in the evacuation process, expressed satisfaction over the implosion. “There was no fresh damage to houses after the blast except for dust, which could be managed,” he said.
