Business has been good at the 20 odd private amusement parks and the several fairs that are put up in the state. But the accidental death of a rider at Ajwa Fun World last week has brought the focus on the lack of safety measures at parks and fairs, and should be worrying would-be visitors.

There is enough cause for worry. Licences for operating parks and fairs are issued by the district collectorate, which leaves the inspection of the rides to the public works department (PWD), an agency mainly employing civil rather than mechanical engineers.

PWD secretary H.P. Jamdar, when asked about safety measures at amusement parks, said: ``Safety does not come within our jurisdiction because we don't have the personnel to carry out such a job. We only ensure that there is sufficient space in the park. Even the mechanical wing of our department is meant only for looking after our vehicles and machinery.''

S.D. Sagarwala, executive engineer (roads & buildings), Vadodara, elaborated, ``We don't have the expertise to check if the equipment installed in parks are okay from the engineering point of view. Ours is a civil engineering department. It is ironical that applications seeking permission for operation are sent to us!''

So what does his staff do when it inspects the parks? ``We visit the site and if the equipment is found operational at the time of inspection we give our nod for the licence or its renewal, directing the management to take precautions and safety measures, arrange for first aid and fire safety.''

Asked why inspection was done by the public works department, Vadodara resident deputy collector C.R. Kharsan said, ``We are doing so as per existing rules, which say feasibility reports for licences are to be taken only from the civil section of public works department. Also, there is no other authority we can turn to for this purpose.''

Most parks have very little by way of safety measures -- other than first-aid boxes. Some have generators to ensure that riders are not left in the lurch in case there is power failure. One park, Swapna Shursti, on the Gandhinagar-Mahudi higway, has a resident doctor.

But at fairgrounds, including those put up by municipal corporations, even those concessions to safety may be missing. For instance, at Balvatika in Ahmedabad, none of the rides have seat belts.

Almost none of the parks have staff trained in safety measures -- they are expected to pick it up on the job. At Goyal Water Park not all `pool boys' know swimming -- only those near the six feet deep wave pools do. Even they aren't trained life-guards.

Sandeep Goyal, the park director, said, ``There aren't any safety guidelines laid out by the authorities. We take care for the safety of the visitors.''

Similarly, Mahesh Modi, director of Shanku's Water Park, said,``We go according to the safety manual from White Water, UK, from where we have got our rides.'' He said his park has some trained lifeguards.

And Rajesh Jain, who runs Ajwa Fun World, where last week's fatal accident took place, said, ``I have highly qualified mechanical engineers and technicians. Every ride is checked daily before operations begin.'' Those defensive protestations do not, however, mean that park managements will take responsibility should accidents happen. Prahlad Patel, president of both, Gujarat Water Park Association and All-India Water Park Association, insisted that ultimately riders themselves were responsible for their own safety. That certainly isn't a comforting thought for riders. However, for the bulk of riders -- children -- that would be the last thing on the mind.