Capitol Complex buildings lack fire safety: Consultant

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 14

Buildings at the Capitol Complex, which have been declared world heritage by Unesco, have failed to meet fire safety norms. Sources said glaring lapses had come to the fore in a report prepared by a Mumbai-based heritage architect, Abha Narain Lambah, who had been given the task of preparing a conservation and management plan for the Capitol Complex.

The sources said the consultant, in her report on fire safety of buildings, had mentioned the fire safety audit of the buildings conducted by the fire department of the Municipal Corporation.

The Capitol Complex comprises three buildings — the Secretariat, the Assembly and the High Court. Monuments such as Geometric Hill, the Tower of Shadows, Open Hand and Martyrs’ Memorial — are also part of the Capitol Complex. The consultant mentioned that despite glaring shortcomings in the fire safety audit of the MC, nothing was done to remove these. It has recommended immediate remedial steps to remove the shortcomings.

Shortcomings were noticed in all buildings. At the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat, it was noticed that the fire control room was not equipped with the required accessories. Almirahs and other material were lying in balconies, which could create obstruction in firefighting/rescue operations in the case of a fire. Yard hydrants were found non-functional during the inspection.

The report mentioned that a fire control room had not been set up on the ground floor and loose electrical wires were found during the inspection at the Assembly buildings. Besides, the automatic sprinkler system had not been installed in the basement. Illuminated exit signs were also found missing in the buildings.

An officer said though the Administration had removed large-scale violations in the Secretariat buildings, a lot more was required to be done on the fire safety front.