CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Thursday fixed December 14 for taking stock of the state government’s plan for implementation of the fire safety protection system at SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) here.
The division bench of Acting Chief Justice BR Sarangi and Justice MS Raman fixed the date after additional government advocate Debakanta Mohanty sought time to obtain necessary instruction as to by what time the fire safety system can be completed in SCBMCH.
The court was hearing a PIL on inadequate fire safety measures at SCBMCH filed by Maitree Sansad.
Earlier, the court had directed the state government to come up with a comprehensive plan on affidavits dealing with the installation of safety measures along with the proper design of the fire safety protection system.
Accordingly, the state government had filed an affidavit which was placed before the court on Thursday. In the affidavit, the state government claimed that more than one year is required to complete the project. The court expressed dissatisfaction as the affidavit did not specify any definite timeline for competition of the project.
According to the petition, the prevailing situation at the hospital with 2,600-bed capacity could lead to disastrous consequences with not enough fire extinguishers available. After a survey of the hospital by a special team of Orissa Fire Services, it had asked the concerned authorities to install fire-resistant mechanisms in all the departments. But the measures are yet to be fully implemented, the petition had alleged.