Playing with fire

Minna Zutshi in Ludhiana

Thirteen dead and three firemen still untraced: The fire at a polythene-manufacturing factory at Suffian Chowk in Ludhiana that triggered the collapse of the building was an avoidable tragedy. It is a chilling reminder of how conveniently the rules are ‘tweaked’ and clearances are ‘managed’ in the industrial hub Ludhiana. The Amarson Polymers factory building was allegedly illegal. The factory lacked the mandatory fire-safety arrangements. Chemicals were stored in the building apparently without any precautionary measures. 

Many such factories blatantly flouting the rules are running in Ludhiana. 

As many as 294 fire incidents have been reported in the city from January 2017. In October, 62 fire incidents were reported. In April, three members of a family died in a fire that broke out at Parasnath wool factory. Another fire broke out in a yarn factory at Gopal Nagar the same month. In May, a fire broke out in a chemical factory located at Transport Nagar. Though no loss of life was reported, vehicles parked near the factory were gutted. 

Fires have been reported at hosiery, textile, yarn and chemical factories in the city. With flammable material in the factories, dousing a fire becomes a big and hazardous task. Lack of clear-cut rules and guidelines on storage, sale and purchase of flammable material worsens the situation. 

It is learnt that some chemical-making units show fewer number of workers to avoid coming under the ambit of the Factories Act. Under the Factories Act, ‘factory’ means “any premises whereon 10 or more workers are working… manufacturing process is being carried on with the aid of power or whereon 20 or more workers are working… manufacturing process is being carried on without the aid of power.” 

Assistant divisional fire officer (ADFO) Bhupinder Singh says most big factories in the city have fire-safety arrangements in place. About the April fire incident in which three of a family lost their lives, he said: “The factory owner installed the fire-fighting system.” What about the loss of human life? “A compromise was worked out,” he claims. The ADFO says staff shortage is affecting the work of ‘checking’ fire arrangements in factories/ industrial units in the city. 

In residential areas
Factories are running from residential areas at Haibowal, Jalandhar Bypass and in many areas of the old city. Around three years ago, Sanjay Sharma, a resident of New Heera Singh Nagar in Ludhiana, moved the High Court as the civic body had allowed construction of a factory adjacent to his house. “The civic body acted only after directions from the court. Yet, some factories continue to run from our area, which is residential,” he says. 

So far there has been no official survey of such factories. Assistant town planner (headquarters), SS Bindra, says: “We will write to higher authorities seeking permission to conduct a survey of factories operating from residential areas.” Only around 2% industries, commercial, educational and other institutes running in the city have obtained fire safety certificates. There are over one lakh such units, but barely 2,000 units have obtained certificates, says MC secretary Surinder Pal.

Workers unaware of rights
It is reported that five factory employees lost their lives in the Suffian Chowk fire tragedy. It is still not known how many daily wagers, labourers were trapped inside the building when it collapsed. Migrant workers are largely ignorant and unaware of their rights.

Working on daily wages, they have neither the requisite level of awareness nor the resources to insist on safety measures. “I came to Ludhiana last year. My family is in Uttar Pradesh. We are poor workers. If we start arguing about our ‘haq’ (rights), we will be left with no livelihood. We come to Punjab to earn and not to get into conflict over things we do not understand,” says a factory worker from Industrial Area. 

Who is to blame?
Tardy implementation of laws, nexus between the influential factory/industry owners and corrupt officials, political patronage, nepotism, lack of clear policies, outdated rules that have failed to keep pace with the changing scenario, are, in some measure, responsible for incidents like the Suffian Chowk fire tragedy.

Ajit Lakra, head, textile division, Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisation, says: “The Municipal Corporation, industry and labour departments have failed miserably to implement the laws and rules. The government has not made any industrial focal points for the new industries or for shifting the industries located in the residential or mixed land use areas to make the industries as per specifications.” 

— With inputs from Harshraj Singh

Badly equipped firemen

Except the helmet, the firemen hardly have any protective gear to shield them when they fight a fire. They don’t even have equipment like cutters, they say. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, during his visit to the site of the fire accident, had said the government was aware of the “pathetic state of the fire services in the state.” He said the government had already taken steps to strengthen the fire services. A Directorate of Fire Services was established earlier this year. The new Fire Safety Act was under formulation and would be ready by December.