Disaster Management Lessons from Thekkady

Disaster Management Lessons from Thekkady

Major boat tragedies have claimed many lives in different parts of the country, at regular intervals. Around 41 tourists on board a double-ducker boat, operated by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation(KTDC), were killed when it capzised in one the deepest zones of the Mullaperiyar reservoir in Idukki district of Kerala.

The boat tragedy at Thekkady points to failure to follow basic safety norms, while carrying tourists through a deep reservoir. Though Commissions had inquired into the Kumarakom and Thattekkad boat tragedies and submitted many recommendations to prevent accidents, most of them had not been acted upon.

Experts have pointed out that possibility of a design defect in the boat that met with the accident. Some passengers who survived the tragedy, observed that the boat was in bad condition. It was pointed out that tourists were not given any guidelines to be followed while traveling in the lake.

Experts observed that wearing of safety jackets was a norm followed in other countries while traveling in boats. If the government had the will, this norm that could have been enforced easily. The Justice Narayana Kurup Commission, which inquired into the Kumarakon boat tragedy, had recommended appointment of a Safety Commissioner for inspection of boats. But the government did not act on it. Hardly, any quick response system existed at Thekkady for disaster management, though it was a place visited by many tourists.

Some of the fundamental norms of safety relate to and include the number of passengers taken on board, the safety gadgets and trained rescue personnel to be ready at hand in the vessel, the dos and don’ts for the passengers, and the imperative of ensuring that they indeed adhered to the rules. Unfortunately, these are honored in the breach according to a senior safety official.

Disasters don’t come with notice. So it is in the interest of the institutions to stay prepared. One outstanding feature of any well-coordinated disaster management in which loss of life and property is minimal is a crisis management system. At Thekkady, the accident took place some seven kilometers away from the boat-house, it took time for the rescue boats to get into the act. Bad weather compounded the problem; some passengers could still be rescued. It is a simple question of implementing the safety norms.

Whenever, a disaster strikes, discussions and seminars are conducted immediately. Same was the case after the Thattekkad boat tragedy in 2007. Disaster Management was the theme of most of the seminars and workshops. Many people were given training on disaster management at the workshops, organized by various agencies though-out the State.

Going by the information provided by those who led the rescue operations at Thekkady, none of those people, including those who presented papers or attended the classes were seen at the accident site. According to the police, it was the taxi drivers, auto drivers and the tribesmen in the area who were in the forefront of the rescue operations. Later, Navy and the Fire and Rescue Servvices Department joined the rescuers.

The Kerala Government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the accident in which tourists from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and West Bengal were involved. Non-government organizations could pitch in and launch an awareness campaign which should go some way in securing better compliance of the safety norms by the boat operators and users alike.