All joyrides to stop until inquiry at Eco Park: Hakim

Kolkata: The state government has directed the Eco Park authorities to stop all joyrides there, following a mishap on Sunday evening in which some children were injured when a ride turned turtle after a norwester hit the city.

Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), the custodian of Eco Park, has constituted a two-member committee to conduct a probe into the incident.

"All the rides in the park will remain suspended till the inquiry into the incident is over," state Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim said.

The minister, immediately after the incident, had asked the chairman of HIDCO Debashis Sen to form an inquiry committee.

"Who had put the ride in place?...What were the safety measures taken during the rides? If the contractor for the joyride is found to have been negligent in terms of safety measures, then the contract will be terminated. The ride should have been stopped before the storm," Hakim said, while terming the incident as unfortunate.

The New Town police have also started a probe into the incident and are examining the CCTV footage to examine what had gone wrong during the time of the mishap.

"We are collecting circumstantial evidences from the place," a senior officer of the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate said.

Ten children were injured, two of them seriously, in the mishap. Four-year-old Riyan Nayak, who was critically injured and his seven-year-old sister Manisha Nayak, were rushed to a private hospital near EM Bypass, soon after the incident.

Riyan was diagnosed with severe head trauma and was put on a ventilator, hospital sources said.

Spread over 480 acres, Eco Park is one of the largest amusement parks in the country.