Mumbai fire tragedy a wake-up call for Shimla

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 31

The Mumbai fire tragedy is a wake-up call for the district administration in the capital. This hill town has witnessed a series of devastating fires.

The district administration has sounded the Fire Safety Department and Shimla MC to check all restaurants, pubs, theatres, hotels, heritage buildings and old houses vulnerable to fire in the congested bazaars and The Mall.

The fire inspection has found that the SMC is not maintaining fire hydrants even in the key locations. “The fire monitoring is not proper even in the heritage buildings as per the fire safety rules notified by the Town and Country Planning”, revealed the sources. Similarly, the story of restaurants, pubs and four theatres in the city is no different. “Khan Labour Hostel in Lakkar Bazaar was gutted along with a timber depot in January this year. We only wake up when a disaster strikes”, said a fireman. Even the Fire Department has no sufficient staff for inspecting each building, revealed the fireman.

Shimla DC Rohan Chand Thakur said the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) and the SMC had been directed to identify the vulnerable buildings and offices. They had been directed to put the fire preventive measures in place, he added. He also directed SDMs and the CFO to survey Chopal, Nerwa, Rampur, Rohru, Kotkhai, Jubbal and Narkanda.