Most of the accidents are caused by human error or carelessness, said Uttarakhand Governor Krishan Kant Paul. He emphasised on the need for alertness and observing safety precautions to mitigate fire accidents. The Governor was speaking at the start of a three-day seminar on mitigation and response to fire hazard organised by North Eastern Railway’s Disaster Management and Training Centre-lucknow here in Nainital on Wednesday.
Addressing the gathering Paul said, “Majority of the accidents are caused by human errors and negligence. The extent of natural disasters can be big but fire accidents are more disastrous and serious because of greater damage to life and property even though the affected area may be limited. It is necessary to remain very alert and observe precautions to mitigate disasters related to fire. Fire safety system will also have to be ensured along with construction of buildings, rail coaches and other resources.”
Referring to potential fire risk in the railway, the Governor emphasised on the need for railway officers and employees to be trained to protect railway bogeys from fire accidents.
Paul further said, “The railways will have to adopt latest solutions while also working to raise awareness among the public informing them about potential causes for fire accidents and related factors in order to ensure safety of rail passengers and the railway’s property amounting to crores of rupees in value. With the combined efforts of the train passengers and the railways we can prevent fire accidents and further secure the people.”
Expressing concern at the increasing number of forest fire incidents in Uttarakhand, Paul referred to latest solutions used abroad to protect forest wealth from fire and emphasised on the need for adopting such modern methods to protect the priceless forest wealth of India.
“The world’s biggest Indian railways service transports crores of people every day. Being similarly popular among all sections of society in the country, Indian Railways is also a symbol of our national unity. The railways has achieved much progress in changing times with modern coach and bogeys along with a considerable increase in the speed of trains. While Indian railways has accessed latest facilities, the concept of metro rail which has come up requires increased work efficiency of the railway department,” said the Governor.
Pointing to aspects like work efficiency and capacity building, he also said that even the junior most employee of the railways will have to be trained regarding this.
Disaster Management and Training Centre secretary AP Singh informed about fire safety measures in the railway while addressing the gathering on the occasion. About 200 railway officials from across the country are attending the three-day seminar in Nainital.