Cramped quarters, crumbling infrastructure: Why Delhi remains a tinderbox

While there is much shock and anger over Sunday's factory fire in North Delhi that killed 43 people and wounded many, a Mail Today investigation has revealed that similar disasters might just be waiting to happen in other parts of the national capital as well.

A brazen violation of fire-safety and building norms continues to make posh residential pockets, shopping hotspots, schools, coaching hubs, hotels and industrial year, 69 people have been killed in fire incidents in Delhi. Let's look at North Delhi first.

The municipal corporation there has identified 2,800 illegal commercial units that are operating out of residential complexes in its jurisdiction. "This is just an official figure. The actual scale of violation can be four times bigger," said an official of the civic body.

The Anaj Mandi industrial unit was also operating out of a residential area, didn't have a fire department NOC and was violating almost all safety norms.

Reacting to Sunday's tragedy, North Corporation Commissioner Varsha Joshi said, "Around 15 days ago, our team inspected that unit. It was found locked at the second floor. So we were not able to see what was going on upstairs. We were in a process to send notice to the unit owner."

Corporation Mayor Avtar Singh said, "We even have photographs of the team that inspected that area but this unit was found locked. I don't want to politicise this incident. We have formed a three-member committee under the additional commissioner. This committee will file the report in three days and we will take strict action against those who are responsible."

WORRIED RESIDENTS

And residents are worried. As many as 68 major RWAs of the Capital have written to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to highlight how new amendments in the Master Plan, which relax norms on industrialisation of residential areas, can be "a security and environmental nightmare".

"This amendment if approved will bring heavy industry into residential areas. A fully automated cold drink bottling plant can be operated by less than 11 people with a basement and 4 floors," the letter stated.

"Mushrooming of industrial establishments puts an additional burden on infrastructure. High footfall and increased traffic lead to toxic emissions and disturb neighbourhood tranquillity, resulting in congestion, crumbling infrastructure, strain on water/power/sanitation, fire hazard and deteriorating law and order/women safety, etc," it said.

Most residential areas near New Delhi, Old Delhi and Sarai Rohilla railway stations may also turn into tinderboxes as they have been converted into illegal godowns and industries in the garb of household industrial units.

Traders prefer such areas to unload and store goods due to their proximity with railway stations and major trade centres such as CP, Chandni Chowk, Ajmeri Gate and Karol Bagh. To run these units in households, no change in the land use is required. Household industrial units don't need any fire NOC as well. Therefore, illegal activities go unchecked.

As per a list of the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (DSIIDC), the number of illegal units in the city is 51,837. Municipal authorities claim they have sealed 9,000 such units.

All three corporations have set a target to conduct before December 31 surveys of 11,972 units (4,204 in South, 4,352 in North and 3,416 in East) running in residential areas.

"Audits do not happen in many important buildings. This should be on time and mandatory. Residents should also rope in private auditors," said an official.

MARKETS

Markets across the city are mini tinderboxes. More so because upper floors of these markets are made of wood. Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, Sadar Bazar, Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar are heavily encroached, mainly due to illegal parking.

The situation is so terrible that fire department trucks can't even move in. This is part of the reason most establishments are operating without fire-safety NOCs and equipment.

Obtaining or renewal of NOCs ensures periodic checks, rectification of flaws in fire-safety systems and availability of adequate equipment.

"NOCs are renewed only once in three years, leaving enough time for many property owners to make illegal structural changes. The changes usually go unnoticed, until things go horribly wrong," said an official.

Dangling overhead power cables are triggers for short-circuits. This is pretty serious as government reports show that most fire cases were triggered by AC malfunctioning, electric short-circuits and safety norm violations.

"Shopkeepers in these busy markets have encroached upon roads and buildings with help from civic agency mafia. They have invited disaster as they are all flaunting fire-safety norms," said Sanjay Bhargava, president, Chandni Chowk Trader's Association.

There are about 1,600 shops, including restaurants and eateries, in Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest and busiest markets of the city that has a daily footfall of 6 to 8 lakhs.

"The narrow lanes with a huge footfall can any time trigger a stampede. No fire truck or ambulance can get in," said shopkeeper Abhishek Mehra.

Deepak Shah, a trader and resident in Chandni Chowk's famous Parathe Wali Gali, pointed to dug-up roads that have made vehicular operation difficult. Either shops didn't have fire-safety equipment or they were defunct, Mail Today's reality check found.

Sadar Bazar faces similar crises. "Short-circuits, triggered by monkeys running on overhead cables, and fires are normal in the area," said Ram Lal, a shop owner in Sadar Bazar. "Illegal parking makes matters worse and blocks roads," said Manohar, another shopkeeper.

Karol Bagh -- a hub of commercial establishments dealing in garments, jewellery, electronic items and cars -- also has a heavy footfall and vehicular movement through the day. All major roads are choked with illegal parking.

In September, the Delhi High Court directed authorities to use drone surveillance for conducting fire-safety inspections in Karol Bagh, while noting massive unauthorised constructions and traffic congestions in the area.

Dharampal, the president of Karol Bagh Market Association, however, said that traders do get licences from municipal authorities.

Of the 800 shops in Sarojini Nagar Market, only a handful have fire NOCs. The president of Babu Market Association in Sarojini Nagar, Kartik, however, said roads are wide enough and shops have fire equipment and NOCs which are often renewed.

RESTOBARS

No different is the situation in Hauz Khas Village, popular with the city's youth, and upscale Khan Market. Inadequate emergency exits, cramped seating inside restaurants and narrow lanes leave both hotspots ill-prepared for any fire tragedy. Only a handful of restobars have fire NOCs. Khan Market has 40 restobars, while Hauz Khas Village has 23.

To bend clearance norms, many bar owners have reduced seating capacity to less than 50, but accommodate hundreds of visitors across multiple storeys. Laws do not require restaurants and pubs with seating capacity of less than 50 persons to obtain an NOC.

These restaurants have narrow staircases and constricted space compounds that make it dangerous for visitors. These restaurants also lack basic fire-safety measures including access roads for fire engines and mandatory alternate exits.

The high court, while referring to poor emergency and fire-safety preparedness of Hauz Khas Village, recently termed the area a "ticking time bomb". Barely 400 of the 5,000 restaurants in the city with a declared seating capacity of over 50 people have fire clearance, government officials said.

HOTELS

Hotels are firetraps too. Arpit Palace in Karol Bagh where 17 people including a child were burnt alive on February 12 had brazenly flouted building by-laws, yet possessed an NOC from the fire department.

Only 170 of the 320 hotels in Karol Bagh have the mandatory fire NOCs, officials told Mail Today. However, most property owners here throw caution to the wind and make illegal structural changes with impunity.

"Generally, poor-quality materials, mostly inflammable, are used for unauthorised constructions. Owners use such materials because it doesn't cost much to demolish these if caught by civic authorities," said AK Sharma, former director, Delhi Fire Services.

Close to 22,000 buildings in NCR have mandatory NOCs from the fire department. These include 1,540 out of the Capital's 2,000 hotels and guest houses.

EDUCATION HUBS

Education hubs are also a big concern. A response to an RTI query from the Directorate of Delhi Fire Services showed that safety NOCs had expired for over 30 per cent of Delhi's government, government-aided and unaided private schools. The plea was filed by the Delhi Parents' Association. According to the reply, of the 5,773 schools, certificates of 2,011 are older than three years.

Whether it is Mukherjee Nagar in North Delhi, Laxmi Nagar in East Delhi, Ber Sarai in South Delhi, or Karol Bagh in Central Delhi, a blatant disregard of fire safety norms and building codes is what unites most of the 5,000 recognised coaching centres that have mushroomed across the national capital. Add to these the thousands of centres that are unaccounted for, but guilty of the same.

A visit to these areas reveals that these buildings will be sitting ducks in case of a fire. Like the coaching centre in Surat where 22 children were charred in May, these tuition 'shops' are houses of wax too.

Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said, "After the recent fires, a committee was formed to check norms. We have closed faulty hotels. Now a committee has been formed for coaching centres and restaurants. We cannot check violations until we get complaints."

(With inputs from Ankit Yadav)