VISAKHAPATNAM: Wedding season is here and the demand for function halls is on the rise in the city. But, you might want to think twice before booking one after learning that none of the 142 kalyanamandapams under the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation limits are equipped with ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) from the fire department.
According to the fire safety norms, right from parking slots, stair cases, strength/capacity, free space, number of fire safety equipments in floor, number of exits/entry points in each and every floor, width of entrance gate and few other things are taken into consideration to issue an NOC for the wedding/function halls. All these regulations, in turn, depend on the number of floors.
There are as many as 142 function halls (except Anakapalle and Bheemili zones) in the six zones of GVMC where not even a single kalyanamandapam has full-fledged fire safety equipment and hence, not given an NOC.
Speaking to Express, GVMC fire officer M Sri Hari Jagannath admitted that none of the 142 function and wedding halls have fire NOC. “Had the managements maintained at least 85 to 90 per cent of fire safety regulations, we would have issued an NOC. But, the function halls in the city do notmore than 40-50 per cent fire safety equipment.”
Many of these kalyanamandapams are constructed in such a way that even the fire engines cannot enter the premises, thanks to the arches and small entrance gates. Though the fire extinguisher should be replaced every year, many use the same extinguishers for several years, which may not work during emergency situations, Jagannath added.
As per the rules, the managements of these wedding/function halls should renew the NOC every year. Though the fire officials serve notices on the violators, the latter escape stern action by paying fines. Against this backdrop, the fire department has sent the verification certificates about the condition of these kalyanamandapams to the legal office in Hyderabad, where the respective officials would soon take necessary action. On the other hand, there are 28 theatres in the city, which have NOCs, he informed.
He opined that awareness should be created among the people about fire safety and they should ask for fire safety NOC before booking kalyanamandapams.