Newstrack

Safety norms for amusement parks

Rajesh Rodrigues - Mumbai

Addressing the lackadaisical attitude towards the safety of revelers in amusement parks and recreation centres across India, the Indian Association of Amusement Parks & Industries (IAAPI) is instituting safety standards for equipment. This has been a major area of concern and the issue was raised at the conference held by IAAPI, the nodal body that represents the amusement, leisure and entertainment industry.

S M Bhatia, scientist and deputy director general (Technical) Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) revealed, "We are in the process of drafting specification standards where all equipment will have to be certified before being installed. It will be mandatory for the operators to have well-trained staff to supervise these equipments when in use. Though we have specifications and guidelines for the manufacturing industry we are now working specifically for the amusement industry because the demand for these products is growing and needs certain safety standards in place."

Most hotels, restaurants, resorts, amusement parks, malls, retail stores, etc, have some form of amusement rides like carousel, merry-go-round or interactive games. However, on account of the surge in demand, the market has witnessed a flooding of inexpensive products and cheap and unsafe equipment in the market due to lack of specification and guidelines. Accidents on the giant wheels, roller coasters, bumper cars etc are not only due to faulty equipment used but also due to lack of regular maintenance. Bhatia added, "These equipments will have to be certified regularly for the safety of the clients."

The gap in demand and supply is also resulting in cheap and used products being procured from countries that regularly upgrade their parks. To ensure that money does not precede safety, Bhatia warns, "Soon even imported products will have to meet the specifications listed by BIS." Though cheap equipment may initially seem a profitable proposition, it may have a catastrophic effect in case of any accident. These strict guidelines will be implemented in the coming months to ensure safety and also prevent spurious products flooding the Indian market.