Mumbai’s fire brigade wants barricades removed from Cuffe Parade

Mumbai Metro barricade.

The Mumbai Fire Brigade on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court that it has sought removal of barricades put up at Metro 3 project site at Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai for widening of a service road to ensure fire engines have access to buildings in case of emergencies.

The fire department submitted an affidavit after carrying out inspection of the area, following a petition filed by an advocate, Robin Jaisinghani, raising concerns over fire hazards because of the ongoing Metro construction at Cuffe Parade. “The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) is hereby requested to remove the temporary barricades installed for the ongoing Metro Rail project which will be helpful for accessing buildings near Cuffe Parade and maneuvering of fire appliances in case of emergencies,” the report said.

It added that the building societies have been instructed to be fire compliant by maintaining their fire fighting system so that they are in good working condition at all times.

“The officers have carried out inspection and it is found that the buildings are accessible to fire engines from the Captain Prakash Pethe Marg,” the report said.

In the petition, Jaisinghani had claimed that due to the barricades in and around the area, in the event of a fire in any of the residential buildings, the fire brigade would not be in a position to bring in vehicles inside the buildings to douse the blaze.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice M S Sonak posted the petition for further hearing on November 9.