NEW DELHI: A day after a blaze claimed nine lives in the national capital’s Palam area, the Delhi government on Thursday ordered a citywide fire safety audit, mandating all establishments—including those located away in residential areas—to strictly adhere to the safety norms.
To that end, the government has roped in third-party experts to map and audit every establishment in the city.
“Every worker and every family deserves to feel safe, no matter where they are. We are finishing the era of ‘blind spots’ in our city’s safety. By expanding our reach into residential business hubs and bringing in independent experts, we are building a futuristic, secure Delhi where safety is not compromised. We aren’t waiting for accidents to happen; we are stopping them before they start,” the government said.
This comes after Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu ordered a comprehensive fire safety audit across the city on Wednesday, as he chaired his first meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which gave in-principle approval to an urban flood mitigation plan with a proposed budget outlay of Rs 21,000 crore. It also decided to set up a state-of-the-art emergency operations centre and an integrated command and control centre for Delhi, according to an official statement.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the L-G office said, “Discussed today’s unfortunate residential fire incident; directed a comprehensive fire audit across localities and institutions to strengthen prevention.” Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was also part of the high-level meeting where other issues like flooding and availability of LPG in city were discussed.
‘Path blocked’
Former CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday visited Palam to meet the victims’ kin
He alleged BJP workers did not let him meet the family, blocked his way and created a racket
A BJP MLA allegedly hurled a chair at former AAP legislator Vinay Mishra, injuring him