DNA Edit: Surat tragedy – Despite disasters, buildings have no fire escapes

Many deaths and several tragedies later, the menace of unsafe, hazardous buildings, without the most elementary fire escape features, continue to dog this country. The latest in this long list of infamy is the terrible blaze in a Surat commercial complex that claimed the lives of 22 students, injuring 30 others. It should be regarded as a case of callousness compounded when despite so many death-by-fire accidents around the country, municipal authorities allow such patently illegal and unsafe structures to flourish. What is extraordinary is that an old story has repeated itself. In this case, owners of the Takshashila commercial complex where the fire took place, had presided over an illegal construction on the rooftop of the four-storeyed complex, renting it out to a summer coaching centre. As has happened innumerable times in the past, the builders had not taken care of the exit points from the complex in the eventuality of a fire, nor was there any fire safety measures or equipment in place. 

What proves to collusion with municipal and fire department officials — responsible ultimately for the safety of such buildings — was the fact that such an accident had occurred in the same premises earlier. Two fire officials in Surat have been suspended and there are sound reasons to make an example out of them and set a precedent case for officials around the country. These two have been charged with not checking the classes at the complex, despite an earlier fire in November that had claimed two lives! The decision of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to issue notices to the Gujarat government is also valid. The NHRC has taken the stand that merely awarding compensations to the aggrieved families is not enough. Unless there are institutional checks and balances in place, such accidents will continue to occur. It brings the spotlight back on the country’s haphazard urban growth.