Mumbai: Nothing seems to have changed a year after a major fire broke at two rooftop pubs in Kamala Mills which killed 14 people.
On Saturday, flames engulfed an under construction building, opposite to Kamala Mill compound. The fire was caused by a short circuit.
The fire was brought under control and no casualties were reported. Nevertheless, not all fire incidents in Mumbai end this fortunate.
According to reports, 43 people have been killed in over 3,722 incidents of fire in 2018 alone. These numbers are an indication of how the financial capital is turning into the ‘fire capital’.
In most cases, it is the negligence of the building owners and authorities towards the basic fire safety norms that leads to the fire accidents.
The fire at Crystal Tower in August was another instance of such negligence. Four people lost their lives in the accident. The building located opposite to the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) zonal office in Parel was occupied without an occupancy certificate. To save itself from the blame, the BMC stated that it had already sent notices to the occupants to vacate the building. However, no concrete action was taken.
After pressure mounted on the BMC, the civic body has now assured that occupants will not be allowed to reside in any premises without the occupancy certificate.
Situations seems unchanged as four months after the fire at Crystal Tower another similar incident took place recently at Sargam Society in Chembur, claiming five lives.
Investigation pointed at inaction from the authorities despite the Mumbai Fire Brigade receiving complaints about the non-functional internal firefighting system from the occupants.
Another major incident of fire occurred on December 17 in ESIC hospital located at Marol in suburban Andheri, which claimed 11 lives.
Speaking to News18, former Chief Fire Officer Pratap Karguppikar said, "Lot of concessions have been given under the development rule. In many buildings, there is only one staircase and no sprinkler arrangements. The amount of fire load compared to the occupants load becomes much more than the exit routes."
The fire department claims that they are doing their best to avoid incidents of fire by conducting audits and issuing notices to violators. Despite the measures taken by the fire department, the loopholes within the various departments of the BMC cannot be further ignored.
Comments
0 comment