The Gujarat government has formed a committee to study rules governing amusement parks and their equipment in other states in India and abroad to implement rectification measures here, Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja said Friday.
He was replying to attention motion notices in the Gujarat Assembly on the amusement park ride collapse incident that took place on July 14, in which two persons were killed.
A pendulum ride at Kankaria Lake had crashed to the ground.
Jadeja informed the House that the state government had decided to pay Rs 4 lakh as compensation from the Chief Minister Relief Fund to the kin of those killed, while treatment costs of the injured will be borne by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
Jadeja said the committee to study amusement park rules will be headed by additional chief secretary of the state home department and will suggest measures required to ensure safety of amusement parks and rides, and change in rules in the state if needed.
Congress MLAs Shailesh Parmar and Himmatsinh Parmar and BJP MLA Jagdish Panchal had moved attention notices on the incident.
"Under section 33 of the Gujarat Police Act, police commissioners and district magistrate are empowered to deal with amusement parks and rides. But after the (Kankaria) incident, on the chief minister's direction, a new committee has been formed to study existing laws in other states, as well as rules of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)," Jadeja told the Assembly.
"If required, we will also study what has been done to ensure safety of such rides in other countries. We will accordingly change existing rules, and even laws, which we will implement in the coming days," he said.
Speaking about the July 14 incident, Jadeja said the deputy engineer of the Roads and Buildings department had last inspected the ride on December 26 last year, and the annual certificate issued was valid till December 31, 2019.
Following this, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation issued NOC, and based on two documents, the police renewed the licence of the ride for one year, he said.
"The chief minister ordered police investigation. Not just operators but even the managing director of the ride has been arrested. We will take measures to rectify any lapses that come out in the police probe," he said.
"The annual certificate is given by the officials of the Roads and Buildings department. Technical experts also give such certification," he said.
Jadeja said the report submitted by Forensic Sciences Laboratory showed corrosion had seeped into the pipe, leading to it getting bent and then breaking.
"It is being technically assessed if the design of the pipe was right and whether content of nickel in the MS steel was proportionate. All such parameters will be considered in future inspection of such rides," he said.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
