By Sunil Sonker
Mussoorie, 21 Feb: A joint mock drill exercise was organised at Bhatta Fall Ropeway, here, today. During the mock drill, five people ‘trapped’ on the ropeway were brought down the hill with the help of a rope.
The National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India has given instructions to organise the second half-yearly joint ropeway mock drill for ropeway projects across the country. As part of this, a mock drill exercise was organised at the Table-Top Bhatta Village Ropeway by establishing coordination with the ropeway operated in Dehradun.
On Friday, on the instructions of the government, a trial of the rescue operation was conducted at Bhatta Village Ropeway. The trial, which started at around 10 a.m., lasted for an hour. During this time, five people ‘trapped’ in the ropeway were brought down on the hill with the help of ropes by the joint efforts of the local administration with the help of ITBP, NDRF, SDRF, local police, health department team. The local administration claims that there is no technical fault in the ropeway. If an unavoidable situation arises, the administration is fully prepared with a rescue team.
After the Jharkhand ropeway accident, the concern about ropeways has increased across the country. On this, the Uttarakhand government has instructed the District Magistrates to conduct a rescue trial for technical testing. Under which mock drill exercises of all ropeways are conducted from time to time so that the preparations of the departments along with the security arrangements can be known.
NDRF Assistant Commandant Ajay Pant, ITBP Sub Inspector Subhash Chand and Mussoorie Kotwal Santosh Kanwar said that the mock drill of Bhatta Fall Ropeway in Mussoorie is an important safety exercise, which is done to ensure quick response in case of any unexpected emergency or accident. The purpose of this drill is to ensure that all necessary measures are taken for the safety of tourists traveling on the ropeway and the administration and emergency services are fully prepared to deal with any accident. The ropeway employees, rescue team and local authorities have to be trained to take quick and correct steps in emergency situations. He said that the main objective of the officers and jawans of various departments present during the mock drill is to ensure that a quick and effective response can be given in case of any crisis, so that loss of life can be prevented, and people’s safety can be ensured. Dr CS Rawat, Additional CMO, Dehradun, claimed that the health department was fully prepared for the joint mock drill exercise at Bhatta Fall Ropeway in Mussoorie.
