DOHA: Although many people visited shopping malls and entertainment venues during the Eid holidays, some have expressed fear in bringing children to play areas.
The Villaggio fire accident and Gondolania ride incident, where children were stuck on a ride at the mall’s fun park, has raised concern among parents, reported an Arabic daily yesterday.
Hassan Al Khabir, a Qatari father said, “We visit malls but with a deep fear to let children play in fun areas due to the two recent incidents.”
Some parents suggest that it’s safe to have such play areas in open places than inside buildings, which would help to reduce damages.
“Closed buildings are not proper places to have such play areas, since they are risky. They should be installed in open places like parks. If something goes wrong in an open place, access is easy and damages could be limited,” said Hamada Al Hajiri, another Qatar national.
“However, even at some places like the Souq Waqif, there are tall iron fences around the play area, which is too risky as some entertainment equipment rotate,” he added.
Parents also suggest that children should not be sent into play areas alone and should be handed over to the caretakers present.
“We have a natural fear coming to these places, especially to let children play alone, as if there is a case of emergency it would be worst if the children are alone,” said Wail Al Marri, another parent.
Hassan Al Harami a Qatari parent was of the view that with safety requirements, there should be also some arrangements to address an emergency situation.
“Safety is important; meanwhile there should be rescue workers and First Aid facilities to address an emergency. Also children with health issues like asthma shouldn’t be allowed into such play areas,” he said.
He also suggested having a strict age limit to enter play areas.
Maintenance of play area equipment is also equally important, especially during holidays.
“Just checking the equipment is not enough, but during Eid holidays those equipment are over loaded with rides. They need very good maintenance,” said Bassam Nama, a technician.
The Peninsula
