Airhostess Afia Magh would have lived to continue her joy ride if only the theme park management and various state agencies had exercised a little more caution.

Tuesday’s tragedy was more an aftermath of lack of adequate state-monitored safety audit mechanism rather than the management merely throwing caution to the wind.

Afia’s death has exposed how theme parks have been enjoying a free ride, unmindful of the dangers they pose to visiting public, without effective state monitoring.

Neither theme park managements nor cops could give a clear picture of assessing the fitness and safety of the joy rides, most of which are imported from Europe and China.

Even a few senior police officers this paper contacted in the city had no clue about the safety audit of amusement parks.

A senior IPS officer, preferring anonymity, who was also unaware of the safety norms, told DC that there were some suggestions to intensify the monitoring of theme parks, but little progress had been achieved.

Vice-president of MGM Dizzee World, Mr Roy, said the fire and health department in their jurisdiction inspect them annually for licence renewal besides the police who bring in engineers to assess the fitness and safety of the machines.

In fact, 90 per cent of the 50-odd rides in MGM are imported, mostly from Germany, he said. “We have an internal safety engineer from the UK.

He trains the operators,” he said, adding that theirs being an ISO park, the ISO team pays a bi-annual visit to assess the safety and quality standards of the park.

This octopus ride is way too popular

A delightful outing in a car attached to arms fastened to a central axis that moves up and down, the octopus ride is a big attraction at all amusement parks. The numbers of arms vary between five and eight at different amusement parks.

Each arm is attached to the middle rim and the cars fixed to the arms spin on rotary bolts. There are different types of octopus rides across the world, with a few having a mechanism to make the cars spin independently.

Resembling an octopus, which is famously known for four pair of arms, the ride catches the fancy of all youngsters who visit amusement parks.

“I loved the ride so much. As soon as we entered the EVP theme park, I began looking for this ride,” said S. Shruti, a bio-medical student, who recently visited the amusement park near Chennai.

For 16-year-old B. Naveen Aditya, a class 12 student of a city school, the octopus ride still stands etched in his memory. Naveen recently visited the theme park as part of his school excursion.

“All my friends enjoyed the octopus ride. It went up and down for about two minutes and the speed kept increasing and decreasing,” he shared his experience with Deccan Chronicle.

When amusement cost them a life

* A 25-year-old entrepreneur suffered multiple fractures when she fell off a joyride at EVP World in April this year.

* A college student drowned in a lake at Queensland Amusement park in June 2011.

* A 11-year-old girl drowned while on a boat ride at Queensland Amusement Park in Jan 2008.

* An employee at MGM Dizzee World on ECR was hit by a merry-go-round and died in April 2007

Do’s

* Read specified rules thoroughly

* Always use safety equipment provided (seat belt, shoulder harness, lap bar, and chain)

* Hold onto handrails, when provided

* Use judgment when choosing a ride for your kid

Don’ts

* Don't move out of a ride until it comes to a complete stop

* Do not put a child on a ride that he/she may be afraid of.

* Never ride under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

l Don’t ride if you’re unsure