Three people died while several others were injured in the Deoghar ropeway accident.
Staff Reporter
In the wake of a ropeway accident that happened in Deoghar district of Jharkhand, Union Home Ministry has issued an advisory stressing on the need to have a detailed Standard Operating Procedure and a contingency plan on ropeway operations to prevent occurance of any such incident in the future.
In a letter written to Chief Secretaries of all States, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said, operation and maintenance of ropeway projects need to be scrupulously adhered to. He said, the State government must engage an experienced and qualified firm for carrying out safety audits of each ropeway project. He further said, a maintenance manual must be prepared for each ropeway project. In addition to the maintenance manual, there should be a maintenance programme so that the safety standards conform to good industry practices.
Union Home Secretary has urged the States to take a review of the situation in respect of all the ropeway projects and ensure that Standard Operating Procedures, contingency plans for operation and maintenance of ropeways and system of safety audits are in place. He stressed that mock drills or mock exercises for handling contingency situations involving ropeways are periodically conducted. He appreciated the valiant efforts made by Indian Air Force, NDRF, Indian Army, ITBP and local administration for rescue of trapped and stranded persons.
Tourists Rescued
Deoghar: All the tourists who remained trapped mid-air in three cable cars in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district for about 40 hours, were rescued in a risky operation involving two Air Force helicopters and dozens of officials.
Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri said the rescue operations to rescue were carried out by the combined teams of the Indian Air Force, Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
More than 40 people were stuck on the ropeway following a collision between cable cars on a ropeway at Trikut Hills in Deoghar on Sunday.
“Three people have died in the mishap, including two tourists who fell from helicopters on Monday and Tuesday during rescue attempts, while 12 injured people are undergoing treatment at hospitals,” officials said.
Rescue operations had to be stopped after sunset last evening as the ropeway runs through a picturesque yet densely forested area surrounded by hills, access to which is difficult except by air.
The Jharkhand High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of Deoghar ropeway incident and has ordered an inquiry into the matter. The court will hear the matter on April 26.