NEW DELHI: Within a week of the deadly Mundka fire killing at least 27 people, Delhi on Thursday suffered another two blazes at factories in Mustafabad and Bawana. While one person was killed and six injured in Mustafabad, there was no loss of life in the other blaze.
Like in the Mundka case where officials are probing whether building or company were using a fake safety certificate, a similar thread of irregularity has emerged: Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said neither of the two factories had a No-Objection certificate (NOC).
According to the DFS officials, the fire at Mustafabad erupted on the first floor of the factory, which manufactured electric items including inverters and stabilisers. All the injured were rushed to the GTB Hospital, where a factory worker — Inderjeet Pandey of Pusta Sonia Vihar — was declared dead while another remained critical.
The injured were identified as Gulfam, a resident of the Old Mustafabad area, Aamir, Bulbul, Bilal, Shamim and Usnara, all residents of the New Mustafabad area. The factory unit was located in a building spread in an area of 200 sq yards. A call was received by the city’s fire service at 12:18 pm, following which six fire tenders were rushed to the site. The fire was put out by 1 pm, said officials.
Ashutosh Pandey said that his father, Inderjeet, told them several times about the bad working conditions in the factory. “My father was working at the factory for the past 10 to 11 years. He told us that the condition of the factory was not good, but he had no choice other than to work there’.’
At northwest Delhi’s Bawana Industrial Area, the gutted factory manufactured cello tapes. According to DFS officials, the fire had started from the third floor of the building. “A call was received by the fire services at 11:45 pm. A total of 15 fire tenders were rushed to the site. However the fire was doused by 2:49 pm. No one was reported injured in the accident,” said Garg.The factory owner was identified as Santosh, a resident of Maharana Pratap enclave.
DCP (Outer North) Brijendra Kumar Yadav said that a case was registered against the owner of the factory under IPC sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others).
Fire services officials said that a fire was also reported from a forest-like patch near north Delhi’s Majnu ka Tila where two fire tenders were rushed. A senior forest official, however, said, “We have come to know of a fire, but its location has not been identified so far. It may not be a forest area under the department.”