Fact-finding committee to probe root cause of fire

Surat: A group of citizens and NGOs working for human rights have formed a fact-finding committee (FFC) of four experts from different sectors to find out the reality in the Takshshila Arcade fire tragedy that left 22 teenages dead on May 24.
Based on the findings, the committee will prepare a report detailing steps that can be taken to avoid similar tragedy in the future.
The committee comprises of Jagdish Patel, an expert on occupational health from Vadodara, Lara Jasani, a Mumbai-based human rights lawyer, Sugit Pathakji, a city-based architect and a retired officer of electricity company are members of the committee.
The committee was formed by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Nav Yuva Sangathan (NYS). PUCL has nationwide presence and played role in many citizen’s movement while NYS is an NGO that had approached National Green Tribunal (NGT) over pollution in Tapi.
The committee will start its two days visit to the city from Friday and they will first meet officials of various departments from Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), Surat Fire and Emergency Services (SFES), Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL) and police. On Saturday, the committee will hear grievances of citizens in Midas Square at Puna Godadara Road.
“Through this expert committee, we are trying to find out various reasons that led to such a massive fire and loss of so many lives. We are trying to explore various factors that can cause similar fire in future,” said Ajay Jangid, an RTI activist.
“It is an attempt to identify the root cause of the tragedy. The committee will look into that how similar mistakes may become reason for another disaster. There are many alert citizens who have important findings related to the issue which they will discuss wit the committee,” said Krishnkant, a social activist.