Before Rajkot fire, how game zones sprang up: No clear guidelines, lure of quick money

A statewide crackdown on game zones and amusement parks in the aftermath of the tragedy ensured that the fun fair that promised “foreign rides in Ahmedabad” — as claimed on its Instagram handle — was never opened to the public.

Nearly Rs 2 crore was spent to rent the GMDC ground from its custodian — Gujarat University, said Vakil Ahmed Khan, manager of the fun fair. The organisers also got No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) from various authorities, including the Ahmedabad Fire & Emergency Services (AFES), the Light Inspector of the state government, and the city traffic police. In addition, they got a fitness certificate of rides and the foundation certificate from a team of Roads & Buildings Department following spot inspections by the department officials concerned.

According to Khan, all the permissions and NOCs can be obtained in 15-20 days on average to run such fun fairs. He says they planned to start the fair on May 23 and run it till July 31. But a delay in the police permission and then the Rajkot fire disrupted their plans. “Before we could get permission from the police commissioner, the Rajkot fire accident happened and authorities ‘orally’ told us not to start the fun fair,” Khan told The Indian Express.

A team of paramedics and firefighters at the TRP Game Zone accident site in Rajkot a day after the fire. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)

According to state government data, 20 of 101 game zones across eight municipal corporations that lacked fire NOCs and Building Use (BU) certificates were sealed after inspections. The rest have been asked to “shut down temporarily”.

In Rajkot, eight of 12 gaming zones were sealed — the highest in the state. It was followed by five of 34 in Ahmedabad and three of seven in Bhavnagar. Junagadh saw all four of its game zones getting sealed.

Rajkot inferno

Started in 2021, TRP Game Zone stood on JPS Party Lawns and one other adjacent party plot on the posh Nana Mava Road owned by Ashoksinh Jadeja and his brother Kiritsinh Jadeja. The duo are partners at Raceway Enterprise, a firm running gaming facilities.

The game zone comprised a tin shed supported by steel frames, two floors as tall as a three-storey building, and 50 metres wide and 60 metres long, police say. Notably, the facility was given a licence by the police commissioner.

The proprietors had applied for licences under the Gujarat Entertainment Tax Act, 1977 for ticketed entry. Dhaval Thakkar, another partner at TRP Zone and proprietor of Dhaval Corporation, had sought a booking licence in 2021. Owner Yuvrajsinh Solanki sought a licence for go-karts in November last year. The licence was renewed in January this year and is valid till December. Solanki and Rahul Rathod are the other partners of Raceway Enterprise. Prakashchand Hiran, one of the co-owners who was also named as an accused, was among the 27 dead.

Ten, including the six co-owners and four Rajkot civic body officials, of the 11 people booked for culpable homicide (not amounting to murder) have been arrested so far.

Investigations so far have revealed that a ‘snow park’ was being added for which welding work was underway at the game zone. It is suspected that the fire started there after a stack of inflammable material got caught in the sparks. “The structure put up by TRP Game Zone does not fall in the definition of the term ‘temporary structure’ and therefore, statutorily stipulated ‘development permission’ as prescribed under Regulation 3 of the Comprehensive General Development Control Regulations (CGDCR) from the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) was required,” the Gujarat government submitted in an affidavit before the High Court.

Summer game

Come summer vacations, the “lucrative” business of game zones and amusement parks begins to mushroom across Gujarat. Such facilities have gained popularity among the middle class who seek weekend recreation but cannot afford expensive vacations or club memberships. “Family entertainment zones that are not multiplexes are a new concept that has caught up with the imagination of the upper middle class. The adults who accompany the children also engage in activities at the game zones. Usually, there is a nominal entry fee that often works on a debit card system where you make a one-time card purchase and add the balance as you like to enjoy the rides,” says a businessman, who is a partner at two game zones in Surat and Ahmedabad.

On average, ticket prices start at Rs 2,000 at high-end amusement parks. In contrast, the entry fee at TRP Game Zone was Rs 20 per person, says the FIR. The cheapest activity was archery for Rs 50, while each snow park experience would have cost Rs 250. However, after the fire accident on May 25, The Indian Express spotted a poster at TRP Game Zone that announced “free entry” along with various other offers, including a discount from Rs 150 to Rs 99 for bowling. “We had plans to charge an entry fee of Rs 100 per person,” Ahmedabad fun fair’s Khan says. The rides were to be charged between Rs 50 and Rs 150.

On average, a game zone well-equipped with entertainment for children and adults gets around 250 patrons on weekends and 100 patrons on weekdays. “While the ticket prices vary, the average cost of soft play in gaming zones for children upto 12 years could range from Rs 400 per hour to Rs 600 per hour. Arcade and vending games are charged individually ranging from Rs 30 to Rs 150 for a single round of each game that lasts about three minutes,” says an owner.

“Adults spend anywhere between Rs 1,500-2,000 per session of arcade games, bowling and other activities, while younger children popularly opt for hour-long soft play sessions with a few video games strategically placed around the soft play areas,” he adds.

While anyone who can afford to invest Rs 5 lakh can set up soft-play areas at malls, a standalone adventure and gaming zone needs more than a basic investment. “It is set up by those who have the means — a businessman with capital, a partner with real estate or an influential partner who has access to government permissions… These are locally owned facilities where the system of operation is almost the same as advised by consultants who have designed play areas in other cities,” the businessman explains.

All you need to set up such facilities is a vacant plot, a lease agreement with a party for using it for commercial purposes, and consultants to design various activities. The land owner can be a partner in the business or simply a ‘lessor’. “Otherwise, the agreement for lease makes provisions for setting up ‘structures’ for commercial use, indemnifying the land owner against any mishaps,” says a source.

A team of paramedics wait at the spot as earth movers dismantle debris of fire incident at TRP game zone, Rajkot on Sunday morning. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

One needs a space of about 10,000 square feet to set up a profitable gaming zone that has a soft play area as well as arcade games, vending games and a bowling alley. “The investment could range from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 5 crore depending on the design. This is in addition to the cost of leasing the land or property inside a mall,” says an owner.

Then comes the staffing costs. A game zone could have 20 to 30 staff members depending on the size of the facility. “When done well, one can generate up to 60 per cent return on investments in a year,” he says.

Game plan

Once the land has been acquired, consultancy firms are hired to prepare a detailed model of the gaming zone, including the play areas. The equipment for the soft-play zone as well as gaming consoles, trampolines and other indoor areas are custom-made and imported from China and assembled as per the design. A Vadodara-based owner says the equipment set up at the play areas in his game zone is made of steel with an outer covering of a fire-retardant material for a vibrant and colourful look.

“Since the lands are on lease, one would not spend on masonry construction. Therefore, pre-engineered buildings (PEB) are given the first preference” the source adds.

PEBs are different from pre-fabricated buildings (PFBs) that were used at the TRP Game Zone. “PEBs are globally accepted structures that are designed using CAE (computer-aided engineering) software and made from steel. They are flexible, strong and durable as their design is intricately planned and the material used is a mix of many non-combustible materials that are used for cladding (layering of a hard material for its protection)… It is different from fabricated metal structures that are less durable, weak and also highly combustible as it is insulated externally,” says a Vadodara-based game zone owner.

However, former AFES chief Mehrnosh Dastoor feels concrete structures are better than “PEB or other metal structures”. “Most metal structures, including the best quality PEB structures, are mounted on heavy gauge steel girders that temporarily expand vertically and horizontally in case of a fire and can cause the structure to buckle down,” Dastoor reasoned.

A Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) official said that any structure — concrete, PEB or PFB — that is not temporary is considered permanent and requires the same kind of building permissions as any concrete structure. “The National Building Code specifies the quality parameters for concrete structures as per IS456 and for metal structures under BIS 800 that states what the strength and deflection ratio of the structures should be… Generally, structural steel is highly fire-resistant, but the insulation material used within as well as in partitions in the premises of these structures may not be as sturdy and fire-resistant and may lead to problems.”

While recreational spaces on government land under the private-public partnership (PPP) model come up as per the land reservation or after a transfer of reserved status, game zones are allowed to be set up on private lands if the plot does not fall under “restricted zones”, says the VMC official. “The local body will examine an application for setting up a game zone by checking its zoning area such as Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) or hazardous industrial area or obnoxious industrial areas, where most chemical factories are located. If the land falls in a clear zone, the permission is granted, considering the same rules of Floor Space Index (FSI) and other parameters that apply to regular building constructions,” the officer said.

In the Rajkot case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) found that the game zone came up on a plot marked for a residential zone.

Safety is taken for a ride

Dastoor says that a lack of awareness combined with an absence of guidelines is a major reason why businesses get started without safety measures in place. “Any business wants to make fast money. They do not want to spend on safety but they spend on fancy equipment that makes their business stand out. There is a lack of awareness among people, who feel that expensive interior design is all that is needed to boast. But they are not aware what it can cost them if compromised safety turns fatal for them and others,” says Dastoor.

A game zone owner agrees with the need for guidelines. “The state government has constructed several recreational spaces under the PPP models but it does not have guidelines to fix responsibility. Private businesses will do whatever it takes to make the most of their investment and it is easy to get officials to sign documents to have their way, too… But when a tragedy occurs, only the owners are held responsible. If the government frames guidelines, it will bring transparency to the business as the owners, authorities and patrons will be aware of what they should expect,” the owner says.

HC wrath, govt action

The Gujarat High Court, which has initiated a suo motu public interest litigation into the game zone accident, has come down heavily on the role (or lack thereof) of the local civic body. It has directed the state government to constitute an independent fact-finding committee by June 16 to inquire into the role of erring higher officials. “Each and every arraigned official has to be named in the inquiry and accountability has to be fixed after conducting a departmental inquiry,” the HC stated.

The state government, too, seems to have sprung into action. On June 12, it published draft rules to regulate game zones and amusement parks and has invited suggestions and objections from the public.

The draft of the Gujarat Amusement Rides and Gaming Zone Activities (Safety) Rules, 2024, among others, mandates slip-resistant flooring, buildings be made of non-inflammable materials and not to have cooking facilities inside the amusement parks and gaming zones. Provisions have also been made for a licensing authority and a city/district ride safety and inspection committee.

The rules also stipulate duties of the organiser and operator of the amusement ride/gaming zone. It requires the organizer to report in writing each adverse incident to the licensing authority and to discontinue the operation of a ride until a return approval for operation is issued. The rules also mandate operators of an amusement park or gaming zone to have insurance cover ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for the visitors in case of accidents.