A year later, Mangalore still has no SOP

MANGALORE: A year after the IX812 Air India crash, Mangalore still does not have a codified Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) incorporating the experiences of different departments involved in disaster management of the crash.Though a need for SOP was expressed at a felicitation ceremony organised by Manipal University for members involved in the disaster management on August 16, the district administration could not make much headway.The Court of Inquiry into the air crash, headed by retired Air Marshal BN Gokhale taking stock of the relief work, wondered why hundreds of people were provided access to the bodies.In fact, Gokhale was told how a simple act of removing jewellery by members of the district branch of Indian Medical Association (IMA) had deprived the charred bodies of their only link with their identity.Though it was done with a good intention of saving the valuable items from being stolen, it happened to be the only link to their identity and thus resulted in a dozen unclaimed bodies, a member involved in the disaster management told Express.The Court of Inquiry's observations on enforcing oneway traffic to facilitate a quick shift of bodies from the accident site to hospitals and developing good approach to roads around the airport's radius, have fallen on deaf ears. A year after the crash, the district administration has not made any efforts to increase its total cold storage capacity which is presently less than 50 bodies.