Massive fire at Mukherjee Nagar women’s PG, 5 hurt
At least 35 people were inside the four-storey building when the blaze broke out at around 7.40pm, including 34 women and a three-year-old girl
A massive fire broke out on Wednesday evening at a paying guest (PG) accommodation in which at least five women were injured, officials said.
At least 35 people were inside the four-storey building when the blaze broke out at around 7.40pm, including 34 women and a three-year-old girl, who were rescued by fire officials from inside smoke-filled rooms.
The five injured people were taken to a private hospital and were undergoing treatment, fire department officials said. Their condition was said to be stable.
According to officials, the fire broke out due to a fault in the electricity meter board installed near the staircase in the parking, which then spread to the upper ground floor, and then on to the three floors above it. “There was only one staircase for entry and exit,” said Delhi Fire Services director Atul Garg.
The fire was extinguished by 9.18pm, officials said.
The details of the owner of the building were not yet known. The upper ground floor was occupied by a family , while the owner had given on rent the three floors to another person to run the PG. Officials said that he has been identified.
DCP Jitendra Meena said that legal action in the matter is being taken.
The Municipal of Delhi did not comment on the legal status of the PG property.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal posted on X: “The incident of fire in a PG in Mukherjee Nagar is very sad. The district administration and the fire department have been instructed to safely evacuate the children. I am constantly keeping an eye on it.”
Meanwhile, Garg said that they have written to electricity providers multiple times in the past, directing them not to install electricity meters inside the residential buildings, especially near the staircase, as it blocks the passage.
An MCD official said many of PG units operate in violation of rules of the MPD 2021 provisions. “A large number of these units have also been outsourced to private companies and should be treated as commercial units. In many cases, smaller rooms are set up to accommodate more students without getting the necessary changes in the building plans. They operate in regulatory grey area,” the official said, while adding that he was not aware of the status of this particular PG.
The fire incident comes just a day after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi sealed basements and mezzanine floors of around 20 coaching institutes in the area, where a number of students reside, on Tuesday in compliance of the Delhi high court’s orders regarding fire safety measures.
In June, 61 students were injured while trying to escape a four-storey commercial building occupied by hundreds when a fire on the ground floor in Mukherjee Nagar.