Safety exhibition in city winning rave reviews

The ongoing International Safety, Security and Disaster Management expo 2005, is witnessing a steady stream of visitors in Mumbai.

The theme of the exposition is "Advances in the safety, security and disaster management techniques, services and technologies". The three-day exhibition showcases gadgets ranging from fire extinguishers to the vehicle access control equipment.

A product catching the fancy of visitors is the video door phone that costs anywhere between Rs 9,000 to Rs 40,000, depending on functionality. It is meant for home use but comes in quite handy in industrial premises also. "We have had tremendous response from the people. And as the product is more focused on domestic use I hope we bag strong sales," said Raza Shaikh, Business head, Telecom and Security Products.

Self-activating fire extinguishing balls which not only explode when exposed to direct flames too are popular, but also make a sound, alerting potential victims of a fire hazard. The fire extinguishing balls cost roughly Rsr 3,000.

The PTZ (panning, tilting and zooming) camera is another improved technological device in the close circuit television (CCTV) which can scan an area of 300 metres. A digital video recorder (DVR) is attached to it that keeps the record and can be accessed anytime. "Such a product is applicable for both residential and official use. The facility it provides enables one to be aware of any incident which happens in his/her absence," said Binoy Koshy, senior executive marketing, Siemens.

Other equipment on display include the public address system with special speakers and microphones. Based on GSM technology, vehicle black box, which provides security to cars and also can tell the whereabouts of the vehicle through sms on the mobile phones.

Moreover, for the workers in the railways, airports, mines and even in local bodies like municipal corporations, the exhibition showcased high visible reflection jackets which make them visible during the night and protect them from any accident." The demand of such jackets have increased in the last three years. We got enquiries from ONGC and some fire agencies," said Lalit Aggarwal, President, Krishna Enterprises which is involved in manufacturing visual protectors.

Escape route signages are another worth using equipment which work even in dark and are helpful in evacuation from an emergency situation.

There is solar photo voltas which can power lights, fans and most specifically they can be used as communication equipments in case of emergency as Mumbai faced on 26 July and ran without electricity for days. This system will make use of the DTH(direct to home) technology in order to make masses aware of the developments when all means come to a standstill.

The vehicle access control equipment keeps the unauthorised vehicles out of the campus. This system works on a radio frequency card which is attached to the vehicle and is recognised far before it actually comes to the campus. If it is an authorised vehicle the gate automatically opens otherwise the admission is restricted.

The different companies in the exhibition are finding it a good chance for getting exposure. And they hope that after this, products will be in more demand. The expo will continue till September 20.