Safety drill grills commuters

GURGAON: A mock drill was conducted in Guru Dronacharya Metro station in the city on Saturday. The drill started at 11am, when a fire alarm was sounded. Two fire engines were deployed at the site, one of which was a state-of-the-art Volvo fire truck with a hydraulic bucket lift.
The trains to that route were bunged. Eight Police Control Room (PCR) vans were deployed at the site and the crowd was controlled from entering the station for 50 minutes.Several ambulances along with teams of doctors and paramedics were also present there.
The stretchers at the Metro station were also put to use in the presence of doctors and firefighters. While the firefighters helped the trapped people to escape, the doctors took care of the severe causalities. The other victims with minor injuries were escorted to the ambulances outside the station.
A fire engine sprayed water continuously on to the platform for 20 minutes. On the other hand, the truck with the bucket lift helped to rescue the ones trapped in the inferno. A team of Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) was also deployed at the mock disaster site. Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) wearing glossy orange vests kept people from entering the station.
Officials of the Disaster Management Authority and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) were also deployed at several points to judge the sequence. The tracks were closed for about an hour and those who were unaware of the event gathered outside the station.
"The ambulances were late because of traffic conditions but the fire engines were already at the spot before time," said Head Constable Pradeep, who was posted at the site. Even after the fire alarm was blown, the lifts were still functioning, which could have resulted in a real catastrophe.
Announcements regarding the mock drill were made in all metro stations, a day before the event. This drill took place in several other stations on the yellow line in Delhi and Noida City Centre in Noida. "I boarded the train from GTB Nagar and reached Guru Dronacharya one hour late than the scheduled time," said Rohit Rathee, a resident of DLF Phase III. Passengers standing on the platform, during the drill were chased away by the police. "I was in the restroom, when two women police officials forced me out of there," said Seema Mishra.
The drill ended at 11:50 am and the operation was declared a success. The crowd was ready to board the train. People were relieved and the officials declared 13 mock casualties and three mock deaths.