The December Flames & Smoky Future

The fire tragedy at AMRI Hospital at Kolkata on 9th Dec is a grim reminder of how casually our organizations take the issue of fire safety. In India, human lives have little worth and only a crisis or a big tragedy initiates serious thinking on issues that matter. Upahaar happened about 10 years ago. No lessons learnt. Small and medium industrial units in India continue to have fire accidents most of which go unnoticed by the public even if workers die and firemen lay down their lives in the line of service in battling such fire incidents. There are innumerable industrial units in areas such as Udyog Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Mayapuri (in Delhi) and Bhiwandi, Navi Mumbai, Byculla, Vasai, Taloja, Khairani Road, Kurla, Tarapur etc (in Mumbai) where disasters are waiting to happen. Crowded with inventories and equipments, cramped with flammable materials, and designed with inherent flaws and poor egress characteristics, these units can easily convert themselves in infernos if 'right' conditions are triggered. Instead of talking 'big' and debating mega projects and mega manufacturing zones, the government must reform the existing laws and regulations on fire safety and implement them with an iron hand. The errant organizations should be severly and exemplarily punished. You freeze bank accounts of firms that do not pay tax but let off them if they do not meet minimum standards of fire safety or operate without NOC for fire safety. Why don't we have 'compliance officer' for regulations that affect lives of workers and school children and hospital patients? Only economic laws are to be 'complied'? Heavens do not fall if service tax dues are not paid but worlds of many innocent human beings get distroyed if a fire engulfs an office or hospital building. Alas! Fire safety is not a political issue in India. There are no Supreme Court appointed tribunals or SITs to deal with issues of fire safety. You need not have an IOC oil depot or BPCL refinery for a fire catastrophe to happen. An AMRI basement is enough to ravage innocent lives. You went there to live longer..........