Fire in Mahalakshmi racecourse building

The Hindu

Mumbai: A part of the Mahalakshmi racecourse building in Mumbai went up in flames on Thursday evening. There was no casualty. No injuries

“The entire members’ stand on the top floor of the two-storey building on a side of the racecourse ground is gutted. Fortunately, nobody was injured because the stand was locked,” an official of the Royal Western India Turf Club that owns and runs the racecourse, told The Hindu.
He said the fire could have been caused by an electric short circuit. The fire started around 8 p.m. Twelve fire engines and five water tankers were rushed to the spot in response to the call, graded number two. Scores of firemen battled the huge blaze for hours. The Turf Club is virtually empty these days as its 1,200 horses and the staff have shifted to Pune, where the new racing season is to begin shortly.

One child killed, nine hurt in roof crash

Staff Correspondent
The roof of the private school collapsed within hours after the building was inaugurated

SUPERVISING RELIEF WORK: G. Janardhan Reddy, Tourism Minister, supervising the relief work at Kenchappa High School, Bellary, where a child died in roof collapse on Tuesday.

BELLARY: Santosh studying in X standard died on the spot and nine others, including three students and two teachers, when the mud roof of their school building collapsed on Tuesday within hours after its inauguration. The incident occurred around 3.30 p.m. at Kenchappa High School, run by Harpahanahalli-based TMAE Society. “But for the break, the casualty would have been high. Almost all the students, numbering over 45, had come out of the building when the roof collapsed killing one boy and injuring nine others,” an eyewitness told The Hindu. According to police, the management rented the renovated building, measuring about 30 ft. x 20 ft., from Basappa at Rs. 20,000 a year. The roof, which was laid using bamboo, bamboo mat and mud, collapsed when a few workers were still filling the mud. The high school was unaided while the primary and higher primary schools run by the institution was aided, according to N.A. Thippeswamy, Deputy Director of Public Instruction. On getting information, the police officials, accompanied by Fire and Emergency Services personnel, rushed to the spot, and launched a search operation. All the injured were rushed to the VIMS Hospital. The names of the admitted children were given as Usha (X standard), Parshuram (IX standard), and M. Sunita (teacher). Three workers – Ramu, Shankar and Sharief – were undergoing treatment. Tourism Minister G. Janardhan Reddy, Bellary MLA G. Somashekar Reddy, zilla panchayat president Pushparekha, Mayor Shobha Narayan and Deputy Mayor Hasina Bi, in-charge Deputy Commissioner C.G. Bettasurmath, and zilla panchayat chief executive officer Anthony Mandonca came to the spot and supervised the search operations. Mr. Reddy expressed concern over the substandard school buildings selected by the private institutions.
“I have given instructions to the Deputy Commissioner and the Additional Superintendent of Police to inquire into the matter and cancel the licence of the school besides suspending the officials concerned who failed to discharge their duties properly,” he said.

From the Hindu

3 firemen injured in blaze at industrial estate

Expressindia
Express News ServicePosted online: Tuesday , June 03, 2008 at 02:14:39
3 firemen injured in blaze at industrial estate
Express News Service
Posted online: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 at 0214 hrs IST
Mumbai, June 02A major fire broke out in one of the units at an industrial estate in Lalbaug on Monday afternoon. Three firemen were injured during the fire-fighting operations.
The fire broke out in one of the galas in the old Kamani mill compound around 1.30 pm. “The oil mill is shut since 1995 and there are eight to 10 galas in it that have been sub-leased. Edible oil was stored in one of the galas. There is also a garment gala, a studio, shaving brush packaging unit, interiors company and a mineral water packaging unit. The cause of the fire is not yet known,” said DCP D K Phadtare, Zone V.
The industrial estate is adjacent to Peru Chawl. “Peru Chawl has been sold to a private builder,” said DCP D K Phadtare, Zone V.
It took more than two hours to put out the fire. “These may be unauthorised galas. There are many lofts. The mill is a 100 x 120 sq ft area without any fire safety measures in place. The exact loss of property will take time to assess,” said Chief Fire Officer A V Sawant.
A Fire department official said assistant fire officer Barahaat and two others — Krushant Kamble and Padmakar Ragunath from Sewree fire station — were taken to KEM hospital. “Barahaat fell from a makeshift shaft and fractured his hand. The other two have bruises on their back,” the official said.
Residents of Peru Chawl, on hearing the news of the fire, ran out with some of their belongings and cooking gas cylinders. “We had just finished our lunch and were about to lie down when we saw the smoke coming out,” said Shobha Shelar, a resident.
“I lost everything. Lights worth Rs 2 lakh and other valuables are charred now,” said Chanda Hublikar, one of the sub-tenants of Kamani mill.
“Khimchand Chawla, a tenant on the mill land, sub-leased the land to the present gala owners. We called up his son, he informed us that Khimchand was admitted in KEM hospital. But when we went to KEM, we learnt that he was shifted to a private hospital. Till late evening, we failed to get in touch with him,” said Senior Police Inspector Ramesh Bhikulal Poman of Kalachowkey Police Station.
The Chawlas could not be reached for comment.
Adjacent to the Kamani mill are two huge godowns rented to an oil packaging unit and a printing and binding company. “The oil packaging unit has 12 huge oil containers and many lubricants packs. A major tragedy was averted. If this godown had caught fire there would have been casualties,” said Nitin Ghadik, a resident of the chawl.

Woman dies after being thrown out of rotating device

Staff Reporter
BANGALORE: For 25-year-old Ayesha, a visit to Cubbon Park on Monday proved to be her nemesis. At the Bal Bhavan’s amusement park, she was thrown out of what is commonly called “Tora Tora,” a rotating device. The impact was such that she hit her head hard against a rock and died instantaneously. Her three-year-old daughter suffered minor injuries. Ms. Ayesha came with her friend Rajesh and her daughter Namra to the Jawahar Bal Bhavan. It was closed, but the amusement park managed by a private company was open. Eyewitnesses said Ms. Ayesha, Mr. Rajesh and Namra climbed into the Tora Tora. The operator bolted each seat and started the device. Midway, the bolt on Namra’s side gave way and she was flung out. Miraculously, a bystander instinctively caught the child. Ayesha was also thrown off. She hit the railing and crashed to the ground. She died on the spot. The operator, manager and owner were arrested.

For information click here

Mother jumps to save child, dies

BANGALORE: An amusement ride with her three-year-old daughter turned tragic for a woman at Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park on Monday. Around 1 pm, Ayesha (24), along with boyfriend Rajesh and daughter Nimra, came to Bal Bhavan. They sat in an amusement ride, Tora-Tora. Just as the ride had started, Nimra slipped from her mother's hand and fell off. A startled Ayesha jumped down to rescue the little one — a leap from over 5 feet. She fell on a railing surrounding the platform, and succumbed to a severe head injury. Little had Ayesha known that onlookers had caught her daughter. The child escaped with minor injuries. Ayesha was rushed to Bowring Hospital, where she was declared brought dead. There were not many people around, Monday being a weekday. Though Bal Bhavan's administrative office is closed on Monday, the amusement park runs throughout the week as it has been outsourced. The police took Rajesh into their custody and sent Nimra to Shishu Mandir, an organization for destitute children run by the women and child welfare department. Department secretary Shalini Rajneesh said a case of negligence has been registered against the contractor who runs the amusement park. "The contractor was asked to close the amusement park on June 13. He subsequently sent a legal notice saying he had invested Rs 30 lakh and would lose heavily if he suddenly closed the facility. But we insisted and promised some compensation, yet he didn't act on the notice. The department will take action now," she said. Authorities have decided to discontinue risky rides in the park. A compensation of Rs 1 lakh will be paid to the child. Only three months ago, Ayesha had set out from Gadag with Nimra, abandoning her husband Abdul Razak and dreaming of a happy life with Rajesh. The trio visited various places in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh before arriving in Bangalore on Monday. Rajesh said: "We arrived here this morning and planned to settle here. We set out looking for a house-keeping job and were asked to come at 2.30 pm by our prospective employer's relative. Since it was only 11 am, we thought we would do a little sight-seeing. We saw Vidhana Soudha and later came to Bal Bhavan when the tragedy took place." Rajesh was working as a cashier in a private company in Mangalore. He had then befriended Ayesha's husband. Rajesh started frequenting their house and Ayesha used to complain to him that she was being harassed by her husband. Following this, the duo decided to leave Gadag and come to Bangalore. Nimra is unaware she is left motherless.

From Times of India

Get disaster alerts on TV

Bangalore: A new communication system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) could revolutionise disaster management in India by relaying alerts to the public through television. Information picked up by Indian National Satellite System and sent to the Disaster Management Support Centre in New Delhi will be communicated through television via a direct-to-home receiver, G. Madhavan Nair, ISRO Chairman has said. Speaking here on Monday at the valedictory function of an international exhibition and conference on disaster management, Dr. Nair said that Bharat Electronics Limited will produce 1,000 units, each of which will cost less than Rs. 10,000. Installation could take place within six months, he added. “We used to earlier rely on large antennas that used to cost a few lakhs each. This new unit will be cheaper and portable,” he said. Natural disasters have, after all, almost become an annual feature and preparedness and mitigation have become important elements in disaster management, he said.
While Indian Remote Sensing satellites have helped communicate information on cyclones and floods, there are some limitations, Dr. Nair said.”

K.M. Singh, member of the National Disaster Management Authority, said that there has been an important paradigm shift in the role of civil defence from that of providing protection during hostile attacks to disaster management. Disaster management must have a special focus on children, he said. “We have to draw lessons from the 1933 California building collapse and from the China earthquake where hundreds of children lost their lives.” There also needs to be a change in attitude towards disasters, Mr. Singh added. The event was organised by the NDMA and the Directorate of Home Guards, Civil Defence, Fire and Emergency Services, Karnataka. Awards were given for the best exhibitors and to students who took part in a painting competition on the theme of disaster management.

From The Hindu

Inaugural Function of International Conference on Disaster Management

Preparedness: (From left) Jija Hari Singh, Director, Civil Defence, Fire and Emergency Services; Meera Datta, Principal Chief Post Master General; Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil; and V.S. Acharya, Karnataka Home Minister, releasing a special postcard at the international conference on disaster management in Bangalore on Saturday.

BANGALORE: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Saturday, called on the people to be aware of every aspect of disaster management first-hand and to spread the awareness in their neighbourhood. He said the key to effective management of any disaster was the knowledge of what to do and how to take remedial measures. He was speaking at the international conference on disaster management which was organised as a part of the International Exhibition which is under way here since Thursday. The conference has been jointly organised by National Disaster Management Authority and Directorate of Home Guards, Civil Defence and Fire and Emergency Services-Karnataka.

Mr. Patil said the Centre was thinking of bringing amendments to the Civil Defence Act to make it more universal, which includes different aspects of disaster management. He said the policies on civil defence and disaster management were already in place, but the civil society had to be trained adequately for bringing various policies to fruition. He said the official machinery will also have to be motivated and educated to execute the policies.

Mr. Patil said disasters may occur anytime at any place but “we can save lives and property by integrating technology into forecast of natural disasters like the tsunami. However, the technology to forewarn the society on earthquakes was yet to be available”.

More serious
He said man-made disasters appear to be more violent than natural disasters and he cited the various terrorist attacks, including the attacks on the World Trade Centre, U.S. But tightening civil defence surveillance and educating civil society against man-made disasters would save many lives, he added. He also suggested that large industries should extensively use technology to prevent industrial disasters. He suggested that every city, town and village should take steps to strengthen their respective disaster management systems by frequent interactions and drills.
Presiding over the function, State Home Minister V.S. Acharya said that Karnataka will strive to totally implement the Civil Defence and Disaster Management Acts. He also stressed on the need to introduce disaster management in the academic curriculum at the school-level. Earlier, Director-General of Police and Commandant-General of Fire and Emergency Services Jija Hari Singh outlined the need to hold regular conferences and exhibitions on disaster management. On the occasion, the Postal Department issued a special postal cover and postcard. Principal Chief Post Master General of Karnataka Meera Dutta talked about the new postal stationery. A number of papers on aspects of civil defence and disaster management were presented by national and international experts.