Disaster: Choked roads hinder response

Disaster: Choked roads hinder response

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Traffic must not be stopped, but diverted

21 hospitals have agreed to help during calamities

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BANGALORE: If you thought the overflowing traffic in the city only got you late for work, here is a bit of a shocker.

Emergency services in the city are severely delayed because of traffic, resulting in delayed response to a disaster situation, M.A. Sadiq, Bangalore Urban Deputy Commissioner, said at a press conference on Saturday.

This was one of the key findings of the mock fire drill conducted at National Games Village in Koramangala as part of testing response mechanisms for disaster.

"We found that the traffic was affected in many places, blockades were reported from areas around Koramangala and even the Fire and Emergency Services took time to reach the spot," he said.

Brigadier B.K. Khanna, senior specialist at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said that in case of disasters, traffic must not be stopped but diverted towards other roads.

"It is important to isolate the area so that all services are able to reach on time," he said.

Medical disasters

Twenty-one large private hospitals and five government hospitals have come forward to assist and co-operate in case of medical disasters, Mr. Sadiq said.

"We have many hospitals in the city and until recently we had no ideas about the specialised services they offer, their staff strength or the number of beds.

These hospitals have decided to forego any procedures when victims of medical disasters are brought from other hospitals."

Stating that weak security in malls was a big concern, Mr. Sadiq said he had requested the NDMA to issue guidelines about mall security.

"I have written to malls and cinema theatres in the city to install metal detectors and increase security measures in these public places," he said.

Training

The Disaster Management Cell of Bangalore Urban District is conducting training programmes for 23 government departments.

"We are educating officials about the role of their department and the role of different agencies in case of a disaster," Pradeep K., liaison officer of the cell told The Hindu.

These awareness programmes are conducted in association with the NDMA, National Institute of Disaster Management, and NIMHANS.