Mini Secretariat’s big trouble

The six-floor Mini Secretariat that houses most of the administration offices in the city is ill-equipped to combat a fire outbreak.

The six-floor Mini Secretariat that houses most of the administration offices in the city is ill-equipped to combat a fire outbreak.

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The seven-year-old building has only four fire extinguishers installed, instead of the prescribed 12.

According to the National Building Code of India 2005, every floor must have at least two fire extinguishers.

The Mini Secretariat has fire extinguishers only on its ground floor, first floor and third floor. The rest of the floors lack this facility.

Moreover, the water hose reels -- used to douse fire -- on the building's terrace are torn and the water cylinders are rusted. The building also lacks automatic fire detection alarms -- a must have for fire safety.

The building, which has approximately 20 offices, gets hundreds of visitors daily.

“Some of Gurgaon's important officers sit here and many important documents are stacked in this building. The officials have to check on the fire safety as soon as possible," said Vinod Khatana, civil and criminal lawyer.

He visits the Mini Secretariat almost every day.

With nearly 300 persons working here, evacuation can be a daunting task as there are no emergency exits.

To this, deputy commissioner PC Meena said, "We will review the situation. There is always scope for improvement."