HYDERABAD: The major fire that broke out at a paint warehouse at Ranigunj in Secunderabad on Friday has once again exposed the lack of fire safety norms being followed by the commercial, shopping complexes, hotels restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, electronic shops, educational institutions.
A majority of the establishments failed to install fire safety equipment and those buildings which installed fire safety equipment are gathering dust due to lack of maintenance, thereby keeping the lives of the citizens in peril.
GHMC officials admitted that many of the major establishments are not adhering to fire safety norms and flouting all the rules. In GHMC limits, GHMC fire prevention wing slapped notices to as many as 20,000 complexes, hotels and restaurants, private educational institutions, cloth showrooms, timber depots, private hospitals, electronic showrooms, multiplexes and godowns to instal fire safety equipment and obtain an No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the authorities concerned. However, only about 1,660 obtained NOC from the authorities concerned till December 2017.
Shopping malls top the list
Of the 6,124 cloth shops and malls, less than a dozen obtained NOC from GHMC and Telangana Fire Services Department
Of the 4,850 electronic showrooms, only about 10 obtained the NOC
Of the 3,025 private educational institutions, only 900 obtained the NOC
Of 1,170 private hospitals, 470 obtained NOC
Of 710 function halls, only 35 obtained NOC
Of 125 timber depots, none obtained NOC till last year
Of 1,700 hotels and restaurants, about 175 fixed fire safety equipment
Of the 45 gold jewellery shops, majority of them fail to fix fire safety equipment
Only 20 of 90 cinema theatres and multiplexes obtained NOC
Of 1,068 storage
godowns, less than a dozen have installed fire equipment
Of 125 hostels, only 15 obtained NOC from authorities concerned
(Figures by GHMC)