Kochi: Failure of police, forest department, NDRF, fire and rescue to save trekker Babu from the Kurumpachi mountain in Malampuzha in Palakkad has exposed chinks in their professionalism.
All these agencies are trained to accomplish such missions without any external help.
Film personality Major Ravi has rightly lambasted them for not only failing to rescue him but also causing delay in seeking army help.
It is the right time for the government to carry out an introspection into the functioning of these departments in such circumstances.
Ironically the forest department was planning to prosecute Babu and his friends for entering the protected forest area when the government intervened to dilute the matter.
If Babu had entered the restricted zone, it was due to poor surveillance of forest personnel. The department could have easily found trespassing through a surveillance system which even petty shops have.
The government should actually act against the officials who are responsible for protection of the forests to prevent similar situations in future. A good amount of the state budget is allocated for forest security and their upkeep.
When asked if any report has been sought from the DFO, a top official of the forest department told the newsskerala.com
that there was necessity for seeking a report as there was no dereliction of duty on part of the forest department.
When asked how someone was able to enter the forest area without the knowledge of the forest personnel, he said it was not possible to guard the entire area of the forest.
Photo Credit: Twitter
