After the Bangalore bungee jumping tragedy, adventure sports companies stress on the need for a regulatory body to oversee safety norms
After the Bangalore bungee jumping tragedy, adventure sports companies stress on the need for a regulatory body to oversee safety norms
The shocking bungee jumping accident that claimed the life of 25-year-old marine engineer V Bhargava in Bangalore on Saturday has underlined the need for a regulatory body to monitor safety practices followed by
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Sad end: Relatives of
V Bhargava, who died while bungee jumping at Bannerghatta near Bangalore, examine the harness that snapped. |
adventure sports companies.u00a0u00a0u00a0
Sunil Raj, secretary, Akhil Maharashtra Giryohan Mahasangh, an NGO thatu00a0 helps adventure sports enthusiasts network, said, "Over the years we have approached several authorities and even sports ministers for a regulatory body for adventure sports but all our appeals have fallen on deaf ears. Adventure sports organisers should be made to follow standardised rules and regulations."
Interestingly, it's the local police that give the nod to adventure sports companies.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
"It's the local police, who haveu00a0 neither the training nor the timeu00a0 to check if safety measures are being followed, who give NOCs for adventure sport camps. All adventure sports companies follow their own safety norms as there is no body to lay down standards.
At my camp we use imported equipment certified by a recognised body in Britain," said Brigadier Sushil Bhasin, chairman and managing director, Empower Activity Camps Pvt Ltd, an adventure camp located at Sutarwadi, off Kolad.
Global standards Aavishkar Tendle, managing director, Natura Outdoor Education Training Solutions, a body that trains people in adventure sports, said he is looking forward to forming an association, which will follow international standards. "Setting up adventure sports companies should not be treated as just a hobby. One must be able to calculate the risk involved in the business," said Tendle.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
According to Satish Gaikwad, secretary, Mountaineering Association, Dombivili, there are bodies that regulated mountaineering activities but, for adventure sports like bungee jumping and paragliding, there is no standard body to control it.
Bhargava's body was handed over to his parents after the post mortem yesterday. The body was taken to Chennai by road for the last rites.
