How many will you read, burned before you start taking fire safety seriously?
FIRE SAFETY
SUBJECT: RTI REGARDING FIRE SAFETY INSTALLATIONS AND STANDARD APPROVAL BY AMC FOR AHMEDABAD BUILDINGS/HIGH-RISE
MAY 2019: FIRE INCIDENT IN SURAT
Surat: There was no escape route available for the students who got trapped on the top floors. There were no safety equipment installed in the fire subjected building in Surat.
Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar & Surat: All coaching classes were shut down until fire audits are completed and fire safety equipment installed.
JULY 2020: PAYING GUEST ON FIRE IN CHANDIGARH
Three girls burned alive in Chandigarh, living far away from their home and parents, they were probably sleeping, having no idea what could happen.
Patients burning to death in hospitals (pan-India), young students not able to fight the fire in tuition centres (Surat). A lot of shut downs and statements were released by the Municipal Corporations and other administrative authorities.
But after the instant angst, did the fire of justified anger die down? What happened?
OCT, 2020: THE FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICE (AFES) ON BEHALF OF AMC FILED A PIL
Out of 1200 hotel-restaurants in Ahmedabad, 450 do not have a fire NOC. Of the 2385 tuition coaching classes, 185 do not have a Fire NOC.
While most of the 1200 private-government school-colleges, 60 malls-multiplexes, 300 firecracker shops and production units, 80 petrol pumps, 50 temporary pandals in the city have the necessary NOC for fire fighting. However, renewal of fire NOC is the legal duty of the units and individual concerned.
https://granthshala.com/gujarat-hotel-restaurant-tuition-classe-fire-noc-high-court/
I checked the website of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for information.
There were 309 buildings in the list of Total High Rise Building without valid fire NOC (Commercial + Resident)
WE FILED TWO RTI
RTI No. 1 – 07.12.2020 No response
RTI No. 2 – 08.03.2021 Response – Data on website
RTI Reply
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Check the website of your local municipal corporation/ development authority.
- Most of them have launched a comprehensive complaint redressal system (CCRS) on the website and app, give them a call and email them, complaint about the fire system in your society if it is in the list of high rise buildings without NOC. If we don’t use the system, it won’t be active.
- Visit the nearest civic center to drop a complaint.
AHMEDABAD CCRS – 155303 ccrs@ahmedabadcity.gov.in (found this system on website but its poster on civic center wall when I went to file the RTI)
The issue is not with bad governance. The issue is our reluctance to use the system available and push the administration to serve the citizens. We pay tax, for the salary of a government employee. Use your right.
