Delhi Anaj Mandi fire: Govt wakes up to save city from big fires
The AAP government has kept in focus key sectors such as coaching centres, hospitals & nursing homes and restaurants & guesthouses. Three committees formed by it after the latest tragedy have hurriedly convened their meetings.
Sunday's factory fire in North Delhi's Anaj Mandi area that killed 43 people and left many wounded has woken up authorities from their deep slumber, it seems. To save Delhi from recurring disasters, top government, police and civic officials have finally come together for a complete overhaul of fire-safety guidelines.
The AAP government has kept in focus key sectors such as coaching centres, hospitals & nursing homes and restaurants & guesthouses. Three committees formed by it after the latest tragedy have hurriedly convened their meetings.
The one to look at the issue of coaching centres has been formed under the Director (Education). Its members include the Additional Commissioner (North Delhi Municipal Corporation), retired Fire Department Director AK Sharma, a professor of structural engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi and representatives from coaching centres.
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 3,000 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.
The committee for nursing homes and hospitals, a number of which have mushroomed across Delhi's residential areas, will be led by the Director of the Health Services.
The Fire Department's Director, retired director GC Mishra, a representative from this sector and some key members of the previous panel will be part of it.
For restaurants/guesthouses, the committee will be led by the Special Commissioner of Police (licensing). It will also have an electrical engineer from PWD, apart from some key members from other panels. It will also have the presidents of Delhi Hotel and Restaurant Owners' Association and Lodging House Owners' Association.
Hotels are big firetraps in Delhi.
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.
THE CHIEF SECRETARY PANEL
The three committees have fixed a timeframe of two months for giving recommendations to a high-powered 10-member panel headed by Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev. This panel will work to make fire safety rules more stringent in a couple of months, paving the way for many buildings to face action.
This panel will have the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), the Principal Secretary (Urban Development), the Principal Secretary (Health), besides other top officials and experts.
TINDERBOX CAPITAL
A Mail Today investigation on Tuesday exposed that Anaj Mandi-like 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 belts virtual deathtraps. This year, 69 people have been killed in fire incidents in Delhi.
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. 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.
Markets are another concern. 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 ever 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.
L-G TAKES STOCK
Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday reviewed the status of filling of vacancies in the Delhi Fire Services and the forensic science laboratory. The LG directed that the report of a committee on use of modern technologies in the fire department for ensuring access in narrow lanes by use of robots and hoses of fire resistant materials be submitted expeditiously.
When the Anaj Mandi fire occurred, only one fire tender could be taken to the spot while other tenders were stationed outside because of narrow lanes. The L-G told officials to ensure that liaison be maintained with agencies like National Disaster Management Authority and Army Signal Core to cater the emergent needs.