Zakir Nagar fire: Kejriwal announces compensations, Baijal assures best medical treatment

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday ordered a probe into the Zakir Nagar fire incident and announced financial assistance for the victims and their families.

Six people, including two children, died and at least 11 were injured in a fire that broke out at a four-storeyed residential building in south-east Delhi’s Zakir Nagar in the early hours of Tuesday.

“Delhi government will provide a compensation of ₹5 lakh each to the families of those who have lost their lives and ₹2 lakh each to the injured. The government will also ascertain the exact cause of the fire and all efforts will be made that there is no repeat of such incidents,” said Kejriwal, who went to the site of the incident on Tuesday afternoon.

Delhi’s lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal met the relatives of the victims in Holy Family Hospital where he instructed the medical director to provide best medical treatment to the injured people, said a statement issued by his office.

It further said, “The L-G directed the South Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi Police to take stern action against the ones found guilty in planning and development of a four-storeyed building in such a congested area with no access for emergency services.”

Baijal also instructed the director of Delhi Fire Services to upgrade necessary fire fighting equipment – such as Google map locator, robotic fire fighters, smaller fire tenders and high pressure water hoses – with the use of technology to keep pace with the changing needs of the city, senior officials in the L-G office said.

First Published: Aug 07, 2019 00:33 IST