Units at focal point playing with fire : The Tribune India

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MC chief Poonamdeep Kaur has assured of action. File photo

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 8

The massive fire in North Delhi’s congested Anaj Mandi that claimed 43 lives has again brought the condition of industrial units in the city into the limelight.

No lessons learnt yet

In April, a plywood godown at the focal point was gutted in a massive fire that continued for over 24 hours. The DC had sought a report on the matter. In another such incident, fire engulfed an immigration centre in Leela Bhawan in September.
While the matter of lack of fire safety measures in industrial units had been raised earlier as well, definite steps in this regard are yet to be taken against the owners of the units

However, the Municipal Corporation (MC) is yet to take action against industrial units at the focal point in the city over lack of fire safety certificates.

There are as many as 420 industrial units at the focal point, but none of them have a no-objection certificate (NOC) issued by the fire department of the MC.

While the matter had been raised earlier as well, definite steps are yet to be taken against the owners of the industrial units.

Recently, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kumar Amit had directed the officials of the fire department to conduct a survey of all the industrial units in the city over the matter.

Officials at the Fire Department said the report was later submitted to the office of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). They said, “Not even a single industrial unit at the focal point has an NOC till now. A few units at other places, including one in Bahadurgarh and another in Alipur village among the few had applied and received the NOCs but the rest do not bother. They have kept some fire-fighting equipment, but those are not according to the guidelines.”

None of the industrial units at the focal point has an NOC till now. A few units have kept some fire-fighting equipment, but those are not in line with the fire safety guidelines.

Fire Department officials

In April, a plywood godown at the focal point was gutted in fire that continued for over 24 hours. The DC had sought a report on the matter. In another such incident, fire engulfed an immigration centre in Leela Bhawan in September.

When contacted Poonamdeep Kaur, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Patiala, said she will check with the fire office on Monday and take definitive corrective steps.

What rules say

As per Part 4 of the National Building Code of India, all buildings used as educational, assembly, institutional and industrial having over 500 sq m area on each floor need to have at least two staircases. All kinds of buildings also require facility of fire-extinguishers. Educational buildings require 5000 to 25,000 liters of water storage in overhead tanks as per size.