E-Paper
Pandals sans fire safety steps
HUNDREDS OF marriage pandals in the city are being run without having fire security system. Any simple fire in a pandal may turn devastating, especially in densely populated areas of city.
HUNDREDS OF marriage pandals in the city are being run without having fire security system. Any simple fire in a pandal may turn devastating, especially in densely populated areas of city.
Chowk, Mutthiganj, Kalyani Devi, Khuldabad , Kydganj, Rambagh, Katra and Civil Lines localities are most fire-prone areas in the city because of a large number of shopping units. But the fire-fighting services available with the local fire brigade of this ever-expanding city are inadequate.
The city at present can be seen in grip of having several trade fairs, cultural programmes and marriage functions are being held in pandals where all fire norms are violated by the organisers. Hundreds of people gather in these pandals without being aware of the risk to their lives. The participants of these functions have no idea that a short circuit may claim their lives like Meerut incident.
Ironically, all the pandals use fiber, cloths, plastic ropes and other inflammable items.
Surprisingly, the basic norms to issue licence to run marriage pandals are not followed in the city. The licence, according to norms, is given by the district magistrate office only after getting 'no objection certificates' from at least half of dozen departments and among them the role of Fire Department is very important. Unfortunately, sources said this was a mere formality because only one dozen pandals have licences but majority of them are operated without it.
District fire officer DP Shukla said the department had no power to check the installation of fire system but it only suggested how to douse fire.
Some basic norms state that the pandal must be at a distance of 30 feet from the road, in open space, gate with 15 feet height and 5 meter width entrance, electric wire at the height of at least two meter from ground and it should not be open. Having water filled and sand buckets at every 100 square meter is a must under the pandal.
A pandal owner, on the condition of anonymity, told HT Live that in fact he bought a few fire extinguishers to complete the formality, otherwise to follow all the norms is almost impossible for him. There is only one fire station in the whole city and that too with only one fire tender. All these factors together present a bleak picture of the city's fire-fighting capacity. Besides, firemen too don’t have adequate equipment with them.
