MCD bans erecting tents in its halls

After the Nand Nagri incident, the MCD has decided to ban the setting up of tents in community halls. Beyond numbers

After the Nand Nagri incident, the MCD has decided to ban the setting up of tents in community halls. Municipal commissioner KS Mehra has said that erecting shamiyanas outside the halls during weddings will not be allowed as it increases the risk of fire.

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"We will start inspecting the halls to check whether they are properly equipped with fire-fighting equipment," said Mehra. The MCD will do an audit of all of its 225 facilities across the city and install adequate fire-fighting equipment.

While the move may help reduce the risk of fire, the 6,000-odd couples for whose weddings the 225 halls have been booked are in for a rude shock.

Most families set up tents in the empty space outside the hall to accommodate extra people and to set up an eating area.

However, the civic body came up with this new rule as many of its community halls are old and ill-maintained. But on the other hand, Delhi ’s other civic agency — the NDMC — has 12 newly renovated community halls with better firefighting equipment. “We have followed all safety measures and all our barat ghars have fire NOCs,” said a senior official of NDMC.