Delhi learns no lessons from past fire tragedies

In the 22 years since the Uphaar incident, Delhi has witnessed many blazes, yet there is still laxity in issuing safety clearance and enforcement

NEWDELHI: Uphaar Cinema, 1997, 59 dead; Lal Kuan, 1999, 57 dead; Bawana, 2018, 17 dead; and Karol Bagh, 2019, 17 dead.

The latest to join the list was the early morning blaze at an illegal factory in Anaj Mandi on Rani Jhansi Road on Sunday, where 43 people lost their lives.

But Delhi is yet to learn lessons on fire safety norms.

Despite a history of major fire incidents, which claimed scores of lives, Sunday’s incident was a glaring eye-opener to the apathy of government agencies towards the implementation of fire safety and building laws.

Experts and petitioners of major fire incidents say that after every major case, agencies jump into action in knee-jerk reactions but action is seldom initiated or followed through.

In 1997, Neelam Krishnamoorthy lost her two children at a blaze at south Delhi’s Uphaar cinema, one of the most horrific fire tragedies in the history of the national capital, which claimed 59 lives.

The investigation into that tragedy unmasked major lapses in fire inspections and the process of granting safety clearances by the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) and the municipal agencies.

“After Uphaar, there was an order from the Supreme Court that a single nodal agency consisting experts be created to look after the fire permits and safety clearances so that agencies do not end up passing the buck and thorough scrutiny of all aspects before functioning certificates are granted. But that did not happen,” Krishnamoorthy said.

Krishnamoorthy said the licensing process is like a welloiled corruption machinery, which feeds private owners of buildings as well as permit agencies.

“The owners of such unsafe buildings benefit because they don’t have to spend money on building additional exits and stairways, etc., and the government officials providing clearance get money from them. Both parties are happy and people ultimately suffer,” she alleged.

A similar concern was voiced by M.nafis, a social worker who has been fighting for the cause of fire safety in Old Delhi. He said 57 people were burnt and suffocated to death on May 31, 1999, after a spark from a worker’s bidi led to an explosion in a chemical tanker in the Lal Kuan market.

Two decades later, Lal Kuan is yet to get a fire station and shops selling chemicals continue to illegally operate in Tilak Bazar near Khari Baoli.

Nafis said land was identified for a fire station in Lal Kuan after it was found that tenders took a long time to reach the spot. But now it has a government building on it.

“People forget everything after a fire. Public rage, the announcements for amendments in law, everything gets doused with the fire. Those who lost their loved ones and their property might continue to remember it, but nothing truly comes of it,” Nafis said.

After the more recent fire at Hotel Arpit Palace in Karol Bagh, the Delhi government had this year notified amendments to the building by-laws to strengthen fire safety norms in guest houses. The new rules prohibit kitchens or cooking activity in any form on rooftops or basements of buildings, and storage of inflammable material or temporary roofing has been banned in terraces.

“Though individual cases will have to be assessed based on investigation, but on the whole if you look at the state of fire safety in this country, it does not feature in any agency’s priority list. Making rules will not help, the key is implementation. There is also a problem of multiple agencies,” said former fire chief S.K Dheri on Sunday.