A mock bomb blast scenario on Wednesday morning, was part of a week long United Nations organised disaster management exercise in the city
A mock bomb blast scenario on Wednesday morning, was part of a week long United Nations organised disaster management exercise in the cityu00a0
It is like any other day in Mumbai. Office goers rush to their workplace, children fight for window seats in their school buses, vegetable vendors and women haggle loudly and college girls chat about high street fashion and international brands. All of them, oblivious to the tragedy that is about to unfold.
Victims lying injured during the mock drillSuddenly, life comes to a standstill. There is a bomb blast at Shivaji Park on December 15. People run for their lives, the wounded lie on the ground crying for help, family members trying to figure out if their loved ones are still alive and panic grips the city. The police, fire brigade and other government agencies swing into action to save lives.
Mock drillMumbaikars are not too unfamiliar with terror attacks, but fortunately, in this case, it was just a mock drill called 'hot-wash,' to test the readiness and response of the agencies which deal with catastrophes of this kind.
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The Wednesday morning drill, was part of a weeklong workshop called the Mumbai Emergency Management Exercise (MEMEx-II), organised by the United Nations Disaster Management Team in partnership with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), University of Mumbai, Hinduja Hospital and other private and humanitarian institutions.
"The entire cost of the drill was Rs 60-70 lakh. The United Nations Disaster Management Team and the UNICEF have shelled out most of the expenditure. However, the BMC has paid for the cost of the food at different workshops," says Naghma Firdaus, United Nations Disaster Management Team Associate.
On the spotAs part of the exercise, a large woodpile near two buses was set ablaze. The passengers inside the bus started screaming. Some tried to get down from the bus and people gathered there causing a major stampede. The police and fire brigade were already present at the spot. The affected area was immediately cordoned off. The fire brigade swung into action.
A mass casualty scenario was simulated at 9:30 am in Shivaji Park, with 450 participants. "Given Mumbai's traffic woes, the police and the fire brigade are already here which does not happen in a real-life disaster scenario. So 15-20 minutes of travel time has already been factored in during the drill," says Firdaus.
A triaged (to separate wounded people according to the serious of their injuries) area was set up at the site of the "disaster" with 100 victims, lying injured. The best part of the exercise was that disaster management personnel, both from India and abroad, monitored the entire exercise.
The victims were colour-coded with red, yellow, green and black and were sent to Hinduja and Sion hospitals. At each hospital, the emergency plan was set into motion.
Medical personnel, trained at the MEMEx-II workshops applied their trauma care skills on the patients. "The lessons learnt at the various workshops helped us. Also, we were made aware of new methods to deal with trauma patients," says Dr Kishore Sathe of Hinduja hospital.
Soft targetMumbai with its burgeoning population has become a target for terror attacks. Disaster is a great leveller, affecting the rich and the poor alike. "We must have a robust and well oiled machinery to fight disasters," said Maharashtra Governor, K Sankaranarayanan in his message, which was read out at the inaugural function of MEMEx-II on December 11. "Ideally, such drills should be organised after every four months. We will put this across after the programme is over," says Firdaus.
First responder and public health trainingTraining workshops were organised on various other disaster management techniques. For instance, a group of participants from various government departments were given a live demonstration on how to treat bomb blast victims on the spot.
The participants, pretending to be blast victims, lay wounded on the ground at Mumbai University's Kalina Campus, following a mock bomb explosion. Workshops on public health were also held. "What happens after the floods is the outbreak of lot of diseases. Sou00a0 we're training the officials and it is now for them to spread the word around," added Sneha Krishnan, a training officer with RedR India
ChallengesDavid Mcloughlin, the UNICEF Deputy Country Representative (Programmes), says that an action plan that involves teamwork is required to manage disaster well.
'Team work' are not empty words for him. He has seen it all and knows from experience that teamwork is crucial in disaster management.
Says he, "Seeing 1,200 school students buried under the rubble due to a building collapse, seeing 45 children die in front of your eyes due to a misfired rocket in Afghanistan has a deep impact on one's life."
Experts emphasise better communication. Vinoo Hinduja, Trustee, Hinduja Hospital also echoed a similar sentiment.
"Synergy among multiple agencies is the need of the hour," she says. Dario Gonzalez, Division Medical Director of Fire Department, City of New York believes that, "right knowledge is the most important thing that can help people deal with disaster."
"You have to evolve your systems according to the needs of the people and the place," explains Heidi P Cordi of the New York, Presbyterian hospital.
The doctors who visited Sion and Hinduja hospitals to monitor the workshops believe that medicos here are rich in experience and expertise, which can be used to handle disasters well.
Other events
Nursing: December 10, 11: Nurses were trained to handle various aspects of prioritising patient care during disasters.
Disaster preparedness for school safety and Higher Educational Institutions: Sessions were held at the NMIMS where teachers and school administrators were taught to handle disaster scenarios.
| Low attendance |
| A seven-day UN-sponsored disaster management programme in Mumbai, was marred by low attendance by the officials of the BMC and other participants who will actually be required to play a crucial role in containing a real disaster.
Techniques which were taught to them in various workshops were practically applied in a disaster like scenario.
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Strange as it may sound, one of the onlookers present there quipped that the city which is so prone to terror attacks and natural disasters could have done better.
At one session, an instructor noted, there were a handful of BMC participants.
Says a frustrated Satish Girap, a trainer with the RedR after a workshop session, "Right now there are only four BMC workers who have come for the session. How do we spread awareness?" Even the top government functionaries cold-shouldered the event.
The seven-day exercise was to be inaugurated by the state governor, who didn't show up. Instead, his message was read out at the event.
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"When we ask for 40 people to be present in the class, we hardly see 15-20 people actually attending," complains Girap. "It takes a MEMEX kind of an operation to organise such drills which should happen more often," says Dr Robert Bristow from the US.
"Gathering huge number of people at 9 am at the Shivaji park is almost impossible. We will try our best to have such drills more frequently," says SS Shinde, joint municipal commissioner.
In 2008 when the drills were organised, the city police were absent.
"The response from police has been initiated in this drill but it could have been better," says Firdaus. |
