Street fights over kites may turn ugly

VADODARA: With all the excitement and enthusiasm during Uttarayan, fights are not a very rare scene during the two days of revelry. According to the data provided by the state-wide GVK-EMRI 108 medical emergency service, there is 223% chance that the fun and games may turn ugly during the festivities.
Fights over trivial issues has led to increased emergency calls every year.Trauma cases - vehicular and non-vehicular - also register over 100% rise every year during the Uttarayan.
"Festivals are always busy times for our operators. Arguments over petty issues turn into fist fights easily. If we analyse the reports filed in all these cases, the most common reasons would turn out to be over kites, loud music and parking spaces," said a GVK-EMRI official.
According to another 108 counsellor, "A majority of the calls, made following fights, report patients who have suffered minor injuries. Most of the cases include bleeding noses, minor fractures and dislocated shoulders. Many of them just need some first aid and some precautionary x-ray examination."
Psychologists believe that festivals are times when trivial issues can easily aggravate into a fight. "The threshold of anger among people in general has decreased. People tend to lose their temper at the slightest provocation and festivals are full of such triggers. In a day's holiday, a common man is juggling numerous things - visiting relatives and friends, bargaining with shopkeepers, getting stuck in traffic. There will be a limit where one would lose control and get into a fight," said city-based psychologist Dr Mukesh Prajapati.
The emergency service also estimates a 114% increase in burn cases due to the paper lanterns and short-circuit accidents. "People try and connect the additional speakers to the music systems. Fires due to short-circuits have been reported due to over load on the electric connections," the GVK-EMRI official added.
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108 to rope in private vehicles for emergency services
Vadodara: During the two days of Uttarayan any four-wheeler you pass on the roads might be serving as an ambulance. GVK-EMRI 108 emergency services will rope in the services of private transporters this year also to cover as much as ground as possible on the festival days.
In a bid to provide quicker services, the 108 services have tied up with private transporters for ferrying the patients in the city. The emergency services will also provide on the spot treatment in case of minor injuries due to sharp kite strings.
GVK-EMRI will provide the service on January 14 and 15 to handle an expected surge of emergency calls during Uttarayan. The ambulances of the emergency service will have paramedics who are trained in extensive first aid.
"We had tried an extended service for the first time in 2014 and got a positive response. The paramedic staffs are trained to attend to injuries which do not need extensive medical care. They will dress minor wounds themselves instead of rushing every patient to the hospitals," said an official of the 108 emergency services and added that this will reduce the usual rush at hospitals during the festival.
"During Uttarayan, we receive a lot of cases of deep cut-wounds because of the kite strings and injuries due to falling off terraces or slipping on uneven grounds. There are also burn cases in the evening due to the paper lanterns. Our aim will be to manage the extra calls efficiently and provide prompt care," he added.
EOM
BOXES AND STATS
- Medical Emergency Cases on January 14 and January 15
Year 14 Jan 15 Jan
Cases % Hike Cases % Hike
2013 2,525 34.71 2,235 19.25
2014 2,978 34.81 2,680 21.32
2015 3,138 31 2,806 17
2016 (estimated) 3,529 35 3,216 21
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Districts with most expected hike
- January 14
Dahod | 62.20
Narmada | 61.40
Vadodara | 59.30
Sabarkantha | 42.60
Surat | 42.40
- January 15
Vadodara | 38
Dahod | 37
Anand | 36
Ahmedabad | 34
Gandhinagar | 31
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Dos and Don'ts for kite fliers ahead of Uttarayan
Do's -
Wearing a medicated tape on fingers before flying kites will protect fingers from sharp thread.
Wear a helmet while riding two-wheeler.
Cover your neck while riding a two-wheeler.
Dial 108 if you come across any injured citizen.
Ensure availability of first aid kit on terrace.
Don'ts -
Don't stand on slippery, uneven, crumbly surfaces or at the edge of the terrace.
Don't jump from one terrace to another.
Don't chase kites on roads.
Don't fly kites near electric poles and high-tension wires.
Don't try to reach for kites tangled on electric poles.