DDMA asks local bodies to ensure safety at rides set up as part of Onam festivities

The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has said that it will instruct local bodies to ensure that safety protocols are followed by those who have set up makeshift amusement parks as part of Onam celebrations.

The DDMA initiated the safety check measure in the wake of a freak accident in which a 33-year-old man was injured after falling off a ‘pirate ship’ ride at the Government Boys School ground in Thripunithura on Monday night (September 1). The ride was set up by a Palakkad-based event organiser as part of the Athachamayam festivities.

“The District Collector had instructed the Thripunithura municipal secretary to examine what caused the accident. A communication will be issued to all local bodies to ensure safety measures are well in place at all adventurous rides installed as part of the ongoing festivities,” Manoj K., Deputy Collector in charge of disaster management, said. The respective local bodies are authorised to issue permits for such temporary amusement parks.

Thripunithura municipal chairperson Rema Santhosh said the necessary public performance rights licence was issued to the event organiser after reviewing approvals from various departments, including the police, Fire and Safety, and the Electrical Inspectorate.

She said the company had implemented additional safety measures following the incident. “Seat belt has been fixed, and single seats on both ends of the ride have been removed. The company was allowed to resume operations only after the municipality’s engineering wing that inspected the site confirmed that additional safety measures were in place,” Ms. Rema said.

Kochi Mayor M. Anilkumar, however, flagged the lack of technical expertise on the part of officials as a challenge in ensuring that safety measures were intact at such events.

“Officials, who issue permits for such facilities, require more expertise in the safety aspects to ensure that the activities are done in a foolproof manner,” he said.

The man who was injured in the Thripunithura accident is undergoing treatment in a hospital. Sources in the private hospital where he has been admitted said he was out of danger and was shifted to a room from the intensive care unit. The youth was rushed to the Thripunithura taluk hospital after he fell from the ride and was later shifted to the private hospital at Vyttila for additional care.