Three people were killed while being rescued from cable cars in Jharkhand's Deoghar
Two days after three people were killed in a ropeway accident in Jharkhand, the Home Ministry has told all states to carry out a safety audit of every ropeway project and put in place standard operating procedures to deal with such emergencies.
The Home Ministry also told Union territories to have contingency plans in place so that such incidents can be avoided.
"I would urge you to take a review of the situation in respect of all the ropeway projects in your state and ensure that SOPs, contingency plans for operation and maintenance of ropeways, and system of safety audits are in place," the Union Home Secretary said in a letter to all states and Union Territories.
"It should also be ensured that mock drills and mock exercises for handling contingency situations involving ropeways are periodically conducted. You may like to designate a senior officer of an appropriate level to regularly review the preparedness measures in respect of ropeway operations as per the SOPs and contingency plan," the Home Ministry said.
The advisory said for every ropeway project, a maintenance manual and programme must be in place so that safety standards conform to good industry practices.
The entity operating ropeways must maintain a record of all the activities undertaken as part of the maintenance programme, the Home Ministry said.
"The state government must engage an experienced and qualified firm or organisation for carrying out a safety audit of each ropeway project. The entity operating the ropeway must comply with all the issues arising out of the audit," the communication said.
Three people were killed while being rescued from cable cars in Jharkhand's Deoghar district after a ropeway connecting a hill malfunctioned on Sunday afternoon.
Since Monday, 60 people have been safely evacuated with the help of Indian Air Force helicopters.