Published Dec 31, 2022 | 3:46 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 31, 2022 | 3:46 PM
Manimala River. (Creative Commons)
The Kerala government on Friday, 30 December, ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of a man — Binu Soman (34), who acted as a volunteer — during a mock drill organised by the Disaster Management Authority in a river in Pathanamthitta.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave a direction to Chief Secretary VP Joy in this regard, the chief minister’s office said in a statement.
As directed by the chief minister, Pathanamthitta District Collector Divya S Iyer submitted a preliminary inquiry report with regard to the incident, it said.
Soman drowned during the drill organised to assess the disaster management agencies’ preparedness to deal with floods at the Manimala River near Keezhvaipur on Thursday.
Though the man was rescued and admitted to a private medical college hospital in Thiruvalla by the officials, who took part in the mock drill, he later died on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) registered a case into the tragic death and sought a report from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and the District Collector on the incident.
The case was registered based on a complaint lodged by a human rights activist.
The complainant alleged that if the rescue personnel had arrived on time, Soman’s life could have been saved.
The mock drill, without taking any precaution, was a gross violation of human rights and action should be taken against the officials responsible for the tragic death of the man, he further said in the complaint.
VK Beena Kumari, a member of KSHRC, directed the head of the SDMA and the Pathanamthitta district collector to submit an explanation report within the next 15 days after examining the circumstances that had led to the tragedy, an official statement said.
The commission would take further action after receiving the report, it added.
Mock drills were held at various places in the Pathanamthitta district on Thursday as part of assessing the disaster management team’s preparedness to deal with floods and landslides.
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