Disastrous state of Disaster Management Team

KOCHI: If an earthquake strikes a city like Kochi, what should the authorities do? After talking with the Disaster Management Department and Fire and Rescue Department, City Express learned that these authorities are not equipped to conduct any rescue operation under an emergency situation.The government’s Disaster Management Department headed by the District Collector functions only for namesake. “There are not enough persons under the department to reach the spot and start the rescue activities. Initially, we use to train volunteers to conduct the rescue operations but it has stopped now. We have to rely on other volunteer societies for help during the time of emergency. We do not have enough government ambulances and need private ambulances to take the injured to hospitals,” a district administration official said.Fire and Rescue Department are not provided with much needed equipment to rescue people from high buildings at critical times. “If a person is stuck on the fifth floor of the building, then we can’t do anything. Currently, we do not even have sky lifts which is one of the most required equipment at such critical situations. We have to use ladders to reach the top floors but it is impossible to rely on ladders to reach floors above 15,” the Fire and Rescue officials said.The request for the sky lift is decade old and the Ernakulam unit is still awaiting a positive response from the top authorities. “We have been requesting for the sky lift for the last ten years.  In the last ten years, the city has seen fast developments and more than 100 apartments with more than 20 floors have come up here. Even as government has been allotting funds for the modernisation of the Fire and Rescue Department, no new equipment are granted to Kochi unit,” the officials alleged. Another major facility that is not available with the fire and rescue team is a good communication system. “We do not have wireless devices needed to communicate with our colleagues at rescue places. We manage with hand signs and shouting instructions. The proposal to buy walkie-talkie still remains on paper,” they said.