After Surat tragedy, 9,395 buildings get Gujarat govt notice for fire safety

Two days after a tragic fire incident ended up killing 22 students, the state has issued notices to 9,395 buildings across Gujarat for lack of fire safety. The state had formed 713 teams made up of 2,055 officials to check for fire safety in various buildings across Gujarat including tuition classes, hospitals and various other private buildings following the Surat incident.

Total 22 students were killed after some of them jumped from the fourth floor of the building to escape the fire in Surat. Several others died either due to burn injuries or suffocation. The owners of the 9,395 buildings have been asked to respond within three days failing which they will be sealed, chief secretary JN Singh told media persons at a press conference.He added that 1123 coaching classes have also been issued show cause notice for fire safety compliance. “The state government will soon hold a meeting to decide the short term, mid-term and long term steps needed to be taken to avoid such incidents in the future. We are working towards overhauling the fire safety infrastructure across the state,” said Singh.

He added that strict action will be taken against those responsible. “We are trying to learn from the incident to ensure that it is never repeated again,” said Singh. “Not only big cities but all 162 smaller towns are also under fire safety evaluation and wherever we find violation, action will surely be taken,” said Singh. It should be noted the following the incident, 80 teams made up of 320 officials were formed and 1524 tuition classes were among those that had been checked for fire safety violations in Surat alone. Of these, 123 have been shut down for lack of fire safety measures.

Meanwhile, two fire department officials were suspended, cops have arrested Harshal Vekaria and Jignesh Padgal, owners of the Takshashila Arcade building. The manager of the coaching centre, Bhargav Bhutani, was also arrested. The suspended fire officials were identified as deputy chief fire officer S K Acharya and fire officer Kirti Mod. Investigations revealed that the coaching centre was made of combustible material like Styrofoam and tires were used as seats for students.

POLITICS OF FIRE

Congress leader Hardik Patel on Sunday threatened to go on hunger strike if the state government did not act against the mayor and fire department officials.