KOCHI: Fear is riding high in Kochi as the disaster management system in the commercial hub of Kerala is in absolute doldrums. Against the backdrop of the major fire that broke out at Aryasala in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, the question is how equipped our disaster management wing, including the fire and safety services, is?A highly placed official with the Fire and Rescue Services Department says their system is ill-equipped and lacks state-of-the-art facilities across the state. Citing an instance, he said that the fire at Aryasala was doused not just because of the fire department but with the help of a fire wing from the Airports Authority of India.As far as Kochi is concerned, the department lacks the facilities required to handle emergencies, said fire officials with the Thrikkakara Fire Station. “Whenever a major fire breaks out in Kochi, the services of the fire tenders from the BPCL and the Cochin Shipyard are sought,” they said.Kochi has many strategic locations like the Vallarpadam Container Terminal, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Cochin Port Trust. Besides, there are a lot of oil companies operating in the city and the oil which has to be supplied to these oil companies are stored in tanks situated in the lake. To make matters worse, it is kept in close proximity to the city. Fire officials say they lack amenities to prevent the outbreak of oil fire. “A kind of foam is used to extinguish such fires. But the majority of the fire stations in Kochi do not have it. If any disaster happens in this area, it could wipe out a larger portion of the district,” they said. The department also lacks sky lifts, which can be used when a fire breaks out in high-rises. The city has been witnessing many fire accidents recently. But the number of casualties reported was small, as every time it was a close shave, they said. When a tanker collided with a lorry carrying acid in Kundanoor, a disaster was avoided as the acid in the lorry did not spill over.To add more trouble, the disaster management wing of Kochi is in limbo. The wing has a deputy collector and two clerks at its helm to coordinate the disaster management activities in the entire state. Though the disaster management wing authorities claim that they usually coordinate with the police and the fire department, fire officials refuted it.When asked about the amenities provided for the department, disaster management wing Deputy Collector Indira Devi said they were providing facilities. But she was not able to throw more light on the activities of the department.
Comments
0 comment