The building owners have to send their replies that he would get the fire safety systems installed in their buildings but till June 26 they did not receive a single reply. (Representational)The district fire department did not get a single reply from 508 building owners in Mohali who were issued notices over inadequate fire safety arrangements at their buildings. The department had carried out an audit last month following a fire incident in Gujarat’s Surat and submitted a report to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) following which they sent the notices.
Sub-Fire officer Mohan Lal Verma said that it is a serious issue that so many buildings did not have fire safety arrangements and people working in those buildings are constantly under the fear of incidents like the one happened in Surat.
He added that after receiving the notices, the building owners have to send their replies that he would get the fire safety systems installed in their buildings but till June 26 they did not receive a single reply.
According to the fire department officials, they issued notices to 131 industrial units and around 350 showroom owners where the coaching centers are being run. The department also issued notices to Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) and Civil Hospital where the fire safety arrangements were not adequate.
The department on Friday wrote to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) requesting the administration to take action against the violators but the department is yet getting any response .“Many buildings even did not have proper space for the movement of firefighters. We have mentioned it in our reports.
For the first time the municipal commissioner signed the notices so that the owners would comply with the directions but to no avail,” Mohan Lal Verma told Chandigarh Newsline.
The officer further said that this time they also reduced the time period of submitting the reply from ten days to seven days so that the building’s owners could be asked to install the fire safety arrangements in a short span of time.
The maximum number of buildings which are without the fire safety arrangements are located in Phase 3B2, Phase 7, Phase 5 and Phase 11. Phase 3B2 and Phase 7 have several coaching centers, mostly IELTS coaching centers which are frequented by hundreds of students every day.
Meanwhile, Mohali Beopar Mandal said that they shall hold a meeting with the fire department as they also have some confusions on the notices. Beopar Mandal president Vineet Verma told Chandigarh Newsline that some building owners approached them and discussed with them that it was not possible to install fire safety equipment and making emergency fire exit doors so they need some time and changes in the policy.
“The owners have their problems. We shall sort out the issue after holding meetings with the fire department and the MC,” Verma added. Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan was not available for comments.
