Over a hundred shop owners and close to thousand employees looked on in bewilderment, as fifty AMC officials and thirty policemen started sealing shops and offices in the morning.
A building that usually bustles with shoppers, CG Road's Mardia Plaza wore an usually deserted look on Tuesday. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) sealed the entire complex (163 units) for failure to procure their fire safety certificate.
Over a hundred shop owners and close to thousand employees looked on in bewilderment, as fifty AMC officials and thirty policemen started sealing shops and offices in the morning. On Monday, AMC had already sealed three commercial establishments on CG Road. It had also sealed 82 shops in Agarwal Complex for not adhering to fire safety norms.
"We have been issuing notices regularly. The first one was sent last year, and we've also been reminding individual associations to get the fire completion certificate. We had also placed advertisements in newspapers, informing people about the same," said Rajesh Patel, deputy TDO for west zone, AMC.
With their shops shut during this marriage season and a quick solution to the crisis appearing unlikely, the CG Road Shop Owners Association held an emergency meeting in the premises of the Mardia Shopping complex. Acknowledging the fact that fire safety norms had not been met, the committee members urged that safety clearance be procured soon. "We had not imagined that our shops would be sealed over the fire safety certificate issue. The present situation is unfortunate, and we will have to work overtime to meet the required standards of safety," said Jeetu Chauhan, chairman of the association.
The association has also approached the high court, and the verdict is expected in two days' time. Some members had already prepared for the worse, and were planning to launch a massive non co-operation movement, besides approaching the Supreme Court.
The AMC also carried out a similar drive in other parts of the city.
The north zone sealed 50 units on the National Highway for illegal construction. The south zone sealed 56 units for illegal construction work in underground parking zones, and the central zone sealed 80 units in Madhupura Ganj Bazaar for not having an NOC from the fire department.
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