Almora: Following the incident involving the collapse of a swing at the Nanda Devi Fair, serious questions have been raised regarding the safety arrangements at the fair. Advocate Vinod Chandra Tiwari said that the administration had been formally informed in writing about safety-related shortcomings even before the incident.
According to Tiwari, information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed several important facts concerning the verification of fair vendors and swing operators, as well as the technical safety inspection of the rides. Based on this information, he sent a legal notice to the District Magistrate, Almora, on September 14, 2026, demanding that the necessary certificates of the swings be verified and that technical safety inspections, food safety checks, electrical arrangements, crowd-control measures, and emergency preparedness be examined before the commencement of the fair.
He said that if an incident such as a swing collapse occurs despite these warnings, accountability must be fixed for the District Administration, the Fair Administration Committee, and other officials or persons responsible for the arrangements. The key question, he said, is at what level the safety standards and certificates were inspected and verified before the fair began.
Tiwari further said that, unfortunately, it now appears that for some politicians, the fair has become a platform for politics and publicity; for some people, it is an opportunity for economic activity; but the safety of ordinary devotees appears to have taken a back seat. The fair is not merely an event involving shops, amusement rides, stages, and political activities. It is a religious event connected with the faith of thousands of people, where the safety of the general public should be the foremost priority.
He said that after the administration was specifically alerted on September 14, it is not enough to conduct a merely formal inquiry if there were lapses in the required safety checks. It must also be made clear what action was taken, and by which officer or committee, after the administration had been warned.
The public deserves answers—Is the fair meant for politics and profit, or for the safe expression of the faith of ordinary devotees?
