Footage showing Kerala MLA Uma Thomas falling from stage exposes flagrant violation of safety norms
The Hindu
Shocking video shows Uma Thomas MLA's fall from stage due to safety violations, leaving her seriously injured.
A video footage showing the shocking incident of Uma Thomas MLA’s fall from a makeshift stage set at a height of around 15 feet from the ground at a stadium at Kaloor in Kochi, Kerala, emerged on Thursday (January 2, 2025) exposing the flagrant violations of the safety norms that has left her seriously injured and on ventilator support.
The footage shows Ms. Thomas walking towards the front row of chairs with difficulty as there is little room for maneuvering. A person on the stage could be seen moving a chair to help her get to the front row where there is hardly any space to move around between the chairs and the flimsy queue manager, which also serves as a de facto barrier with no other structure to prevent a potential free fall.
Ms. Thomas sits down on a chair at which actor Sijoy Varghese could be seen requesting her to, probably to move to another chair. She tries to walk past another person right next to her. There is little space for her to walk past this person and she probably stumbles and loses her balance.
She tries to grab a support but could only grip the queue manager and falls. Culture Minister Saju Cherian, GCDA chairman K. Chandran Pillai and District Police Chief (Kochi City) Putta Vimaladitya could also be seen seated on the stage witnessing the incident.
The Kochi City police had already found flagrant violation of safety norms in the way the stage was set up, including an unusual tilt towards the front of the stage.
The Palarivattom police have registered a case against the organisers. The Kochi Corporation has also suspended a health inspector who had inspected the venue on an application for licence under the Kerala Places of Public Resort Act for overlooking the violations.
The incident took place on December 29 in connection with the inauguration of a mass dance event held to enter the Guiness Book of World Records.
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