BHUBANESWAR: A day after a major fire gutted around 12 shops at the Unit-I vegetable market, the BMC has decided to impose a complete ban on use of tarpaulin and plastic sheets in all markets and haats in the city.
The civic body has also stated that it would announce SoPs for the market committees and vendors for enhanced safety and regulations soon.
Mayor Sulochana Das said, “An enumeration exercise will be carried out soon to find out the exact number of shops doing business in makeshift tents and using the tarpaulin sheets as cover and shed. The vendors will be asked to replace those plastic sheets with alternatives that are non-flammable.”
The mayor said in Wednesday’s fire incident, use of synthetic tarpaulin and polythene sheets intensified the blaze, making it difficult to contain immediately. Firefighting vehicles also faced difficulty entering the market to douse the flames as several vendors had extended their shop spaces through encroachment.
“We have warned that such encroachments will not be tolerated. An enforcement drive will soon be launched to remove them from haats and daily markets across the city,” Das said.
She said that the BMC will now monitor the elections of market committees to keep record of their office-bearers and hold them accountable for implementing SOPs and other regulations.
“Market committees will also be asked to facilitate group insurance for their vendors to protect them against losses due to fire accidents. Currently, they receive no financial support, except for limited assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund,” she added.
