 CM Deshmukh with Uddhav Thackeray and mayor Datta Dalvi at the launch of BMCs disaster management cell yesterday. During the function, a spat broke out between Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vijaysingh Kalampatil and one of Deshmukhs security guards (circled). The guard was told to leave the roomPoor management and lax security marred the launch of the BMCs much-touted disaster management cell yesterday.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh inaugurated the central control room of the cell at the BMC headquarters amid chaos as BMC personnel struggled to control the media army, bureaucrats and politicians in a crammed room.
The programme started at 4.30 pm, half-an-hour behind schedule, due to Deshmukhs late arrival.
As the CM and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray entered the room, the 100-odd people at the venue pushed and shoved each other in an effort to greet the guests.
The security personnel failed to restore order as members of the press battled to speak to the leaders and photograph them. The BMC itself, however, had invited the press to the function.
Ugly spat
An altercation between Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vijaysingh Kalampatil and Deshmukhs security guard worsened matters. Kalampatil ordered the guard, who allegedly pushed Additional Municipal Commissioner Shrikant Singh, out of the room.
He was pushing a lot of BMC officials. He probably wasnt aware of their designation. Matters calmed down after I shouted at him, said Kalampatil.
Is anybody home?
The last straw was the poor response to the disaster management cells six direct phone lines to important control rooms the police commissioners office, Mantralaya, Western Railways (WR), Central Railways, BEST and the fire control.
As Deshmukh and Thackeray dialled their numbers repeatedly, none at the WR, BEST and police controls answered the calls.
The lines were functional. It was just that officials at the three control rooms did not care, said a BMC disaster management chief.
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