Fires, stampedes and other horrors are just what the city has witnessed in the recent past
The fire that engulfed Kamala Mills late Thursday and claimed 14 lives has left the city reeling and leaving its citizens asking questions.
On Friday, Mumbai BJP President Ashish Shelar said that one needed to review several parameters before handing over permissions to rooftop restaurants in future, while the owners of the Mojo, which is located a floor below 1 Above, where the fire broke out said, “We are extremely saddened by the incident. Mojo's has all its fire safety norms, certificates and procedures in place. The staff are thoroughly trained in fire drills hence our staff were able to evacuate all our guests and themselves out to safety with zero injury. There were NO cylinders on our premises. We are fully complying with the authorities to help in anyway we can.”
If you look at Mumbai’s history when it comes to fire-related tragedies, they have mostly been due to lack of fire-safety norms. The BMC and the fire brigade on Friday suggested that 1 Above had flouted the norms while setting up the rooftop bar. A similar case was reported when Escobar, a popular nightclub in Bandra was gutted in October 2014. Then, too, it was discovered that the pub had flouted fire-safety regulations.
With Yuva Sena Chief Aaditya Thackeray announced that he was working towards making Mumbai a 24x7 city, people rejoiced. However, if this dream is to be a success, there is a major need to ensure restaurants and hang out spots meet all necessary norms, and those who flout them are immediately shut down.
In 2013, a building in Kemps Corner caught fire resulting in the deaths of seven people. At the time, fire officials stated that the building, which was constructed in 1984, had no refuge floors for emergencies.
But fire isn’t the only problem that has plagued Mumbai. Earlier this year, a stampede at Elphinstone Road station that killed 23 and injured over 30, highlighted the high-handedness of the railway authorities. The pedestrian bridge that would shake due to the high influx of individuals moving in and out of the station was dangerous, and the perils had been highlighted to authorities for the past several years. However, it was only after the stampede that the authorities sprung into action.
Earlier this week, another incident, this time on Mumbai’s Harbour Line shocked the citizens of the island city. Services were stopped after a power failure near CBD Belapur. However, a video shared by veteran railway journalist Rajendra Aklekar highlighted how an accident was waiting to happen. The video shows a train moving, but the electric cables that usually power the locomotives dangerously close to the coaches, which could have resulted in a major accident.
People still talk of the spirit of Mumbai. There was never any spirit. The city is reeling and nobody seems to care. It’s an ‘I need to rush so that I am first’ syndrome that is taking the city nowhere.
And with this attitude, forget Shanghai. Mumbai will no longer be Mumbai.
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 "The remains of the fire in Kamala Mills")
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