Political parties protest as TMC goes soft on eateries and hukkah joints in Thane

To avoid the repeat of Kamala mills fire tragedy in Thane, political parties have come together to protest against TMC's soft attitude towards hookah parlours and eateries in the city.

"We had a point of order discussion in the TMC house on the issue. As most hookah parlours are illegal in Thane we demanded that they be immediately shut," says Manoj Shinde, Thane Congress President. "For the time being action was taken against some of them but they still continue to function. now they are functioning," he added.

Sandeep Pachange, leader of Thane MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) student wing says that their concern over fire safety has been taken lightly by the administration. "Rather than taking immediate action against them TMC has extended their deadline by 15 days to get fire no objection certificate" says Pachange. " Many of those who died in Kamala mills were students. What if a similar thing happens in Thane within these 15 days?," he asks.

There are over 458 hotels, bars, lodges, recreation centers including hukka parlors in Thane. "None of them are fire safety compliant. Most of them do not have fire exits or any such measures," he adds.

After presenting their demand to TMC (Thane municipal commissioner) the parties have decided to wait till next eight days to decide their future course of action.

Sanjeev Jaiswal, TMC commissioner, said that these allegations against the administration are baseless and uncalled for.