Factories sans safety measures risk several lives
9 April 2018 6:11 PM GMT
New Delhi: Nothing was learnt from the Bawana factory fire which killed 17 people. Factories are still running in residential areas without proper fire safety arrangements and escape routes, which risks the lives of labourers as well as those of other residents.
During the investigation of the building where a fire incident was reported, it was found that it did not have NOC related to fire safety. "It was running in an unauthorized building in a residential area. So, no NOC was given to the building," said a senior fire official. According to the residents of Raja Park where the building was located, it had more than 1,000 people living there.
At the spot, it was found that the gate of the building was broken. It is being investigated whether the door was closed during the fire which resulted in the deaths. Atul Garg, Chief Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Services (DFS) stated that the building had fewer escape routes due to which the labourers were trapped in the fire. Reports were also coming that the fire started from the electronic meter which is being verified by the police.
An MCD official stated that they have been conducting raids on such type of units to stop illegal activities. "No license was given to the factory as it was situated in a residential area," said the official, adding that they only give license to factories in industrial areas. "Bawana and Okhla are the industrial areas for factories," said the official.
At the spot, SDM Rohini Nagendra Tripathi was taking note of the situation. He stated that the building was situated in an unauthorised colony. When asked why there was a factory running in the residential area, the official claimed that it was an apathy which Delhi is facing. The area where the incident was reported was very congested. Adding to the worry were several gas cylinders inside and the residents feared that they might explode but after cooling, the situation turned normal.
The data accessed by the Millennium Post stated that in 2017, DFS had received approximately 23,417 calls (until October 23) which included incident related to fire, sewer, road, drowning and building collapse. In 2016, the number of calls were around 31,304. The data further stated that in April and May, the highest number of calls were received by DFS which were 3,395 and 2,994 respectively.
In 2016, 3,300, 3,560 and 3,645 calls were received in April, May and June respectively. In July 2017, a less number of calls have been received compared to the rest nine months which was 1,931 whereas in 2016 during the same month, 2,255 calls were received.
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