51 South Mumbai Ganpati mandals receive CPR, first-aid training for Ganeshotsav

Volunteers from 51 Ganpati mandals in South Mumbai have received CPR and basic first-aid training ahead of this year’s festival, with foldable stretchers supplied for use during emergencies.

Wockhardt Hospitals Mumbai Central ran the initiative for mandals in areas including Girgaon, Khetwadi, Lalbaug, Parel, Walkeshwar, Prabhadevi, Worli, Nagpada and Chinchpokli. These neighbourhoods draw large numbers of devotees during Ganeshotsav, often making it difficult to move an unwell person through a packed pandal.

The sessions covered how to respond to fainting, falls, injuries, breathlessness and sudden cardiac emergencies before professional medical help arrives. The stretchers are intended to help volunteers move people who cannot walk or need assistance reaching medical care.

Dr Virendra Chauhan, centre head at Wockhardt Hospitals Mumbai Central, said the programme was designed to give mandal volunteers practical emergency-response skills during large public gatherings. For visitors, the immediate change is that participating pandals will have volunteers trained in basic first aid and CPR, along with equipment to carry someone out of a crowded space.