How the festive fair ride industry thrives without safety measures

In the final week of September, a woman slipped from her chair midair on a Ferris wheel at a Ramlila fair in west Delhi, dangling precariously as the ride continued to spin. There were no safety belts.

- Hemani Bhandari and Paras Singh

A few days later, a man was almost thrown off “Columbus” swing in Rohini after it nearly flipped over. And in April, a 24-year-old woman lost her life when she fell from the “Top Spin” ride at a fair in southwest Delhi's Kapashera.

These are not isolated accidents but symptoms of a deeper problem — highlighting the vacuum of regulation that governs Delhi-NCR’s festive season fairs. Every year, as Dussehra and Diwali melas light up open grounds across the city, with hundreds of makeshift amusement rides — Ferris wheels, carousels, giant ships. But behind their neon glow lies an ecosystem built on risk, improvisation, and neglect.

The men who assemble and operate these rides are often teenagers or barely in their twenties. Most have no formal training, no safety certification, and no supervision from technical agencies. The rides themselves, which are often purchased from towns like Meerut or Rajkot for ₹25-30 lakh apiece, are dismantled, transported, and reassembled at new sites every few days.

Ground reality

On paper, the licensing process appears rigorous. Fair organisers must obtain a permit from the district magistrate’s office, which forwards applications to the Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for clearances on law and order, site safety, and mechanical fitness. MCD’s electrical and mechanical (E&M) department is responsible for issuing “fitness certificates” after testing the rides at full load (using sandbags), checking seat belts and backup systems, and ensuring that an evacuation plan is prominently displayed.