A truck parked outside caught fire, which spread to the godown. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
About 40 days ago, an AAP councillor had warned the South Delhi Municipal Corporation commissioner and Delhi Police commissioner about plastic factories in the area, which were not following rules and could lead to a major fire. AAP councillor from Chirag Delhi, Pooja Jakhar, had written a letter on April 18, in which she warned that there can be a fire in her ward. Barely 40 days later, a blaze broke out in a warehouse in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, which falls in Jakhar’s ward, at a rubber godown.
She had stated in the letter that there had been several fire incidents in Panchsheel Vihar in the past two years, posing a serious threat to life and property due to proliferation of plastic factories, garages, and ghee and oil godowns operating in the area without following any precautionary measures. “There are several kabadiwalas in the region with huge godowns. There are also kitchens of restaurants who use gas cylinders but do not maintain any precautionary measures,” the letter stated.
South DMC spokesperson said they had no information of such a warehouse running in Malviya Nagar, as it was illegal. “We can only take action if the warehouse would have taken licence from us or approached us to pay conversion or other charges.”