The district administration’s proposal to set up a team of expert divers for rescue operations during water-related disasters continues to gather dust, thanks to the lack of support from the State government.
The need for such a force has been reinforced once again by the drowning of four in the Periyar on Friday.
The district administration at one point had even thought of getting it off the ground through private sponsorship. Apparently, that also didn’t materialise.
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The proposal for setting up a team of expert divers was born out of the realisation that precious time was being lost in rescue operations while waiting for the arrival of divers from the Navy or Coast Guard.
The tragedy in which five NCC cadets drowned in Periyar at Mahoganythottam in Mulamkuzhi near Malayattoor in December 2012 was expected to revive the proposal.
In fact, former District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareeth had even written to the Goa-based National Institute of Water Sports (NIWS) asking to depute a few experts to select the right candidates for the proposed divers’ team. But the move hit a roadblock due to absence of funds.
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The idea was to have a pool of 40-odd divers, at least five each in all seven taluks in the district, to be selected by the experts from NIWS from among the candidates long-listed by the district administration. The right physique and the capability to dive in to a depth of 100 meters within 3 minutes were some of the criterion for selection.
The first of its kind proposal anywhere in the State was originally mooted by then Revenue Minister while inaugurating a chemical emergency management training for government officials here in January 2012.
DDMA followed up on the idea and forwarded a proposal worth Rs. 2 lakh to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) for sending 40 persons for advanced training at NIWS.
SMDA returned the proposal with the suggestion to arrange for training in the district itself.
The district administration, however, insisted on getting the persons trained at NIWS pointing out that there was no agency in the district with the required specialised knowledge.