Rajkot fire: Shut gaming zones that don’t follow safety norms, local bodies told’

On Saturday, soon after the TRP game zone tragedy, the Home Department issued a directive and asked the authorities to verify if the gaming zones have necessary approvals to operate. Permission of the local administration for the construction is one of the aspects that the authorities have been asked to check.

No Objection Certificate (NOC) for fire, arrangements for relief and rescue operations, including emergency exits during accidental fire, regular inspections — the authorities have been told to ensure adherence to the safety norms at the gaming zones, in case of emergencies. After the directive, local authorities across the state started a review of all the gaming zones in their jurisdiction.

In Ahmedabad, the civic body has formed three teams to review the safety audit of gaming zones. A senior officer of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said that following the communication from the Home Department, 16 gaming zones have been identified in the city. Of these, three are in eastern Ahmedabad and 13 are in western Ahmedabad.

“The teams have officials from different departments like fire, police, and revenue… And wherever they find any lapses, immediately the owners of the gaming zones will be ordered to close the facilities. They won’t be allowed to resume operations till the lapses are addressed,” the officer said.

A senior officer from the Urban Development Department said, “The inspection of gaming zones is ongoing across the state. We will be able to give the exact number of such gaming zones in the state by tomorrow (Monday) morning. There are different kinds of gaming zones – big, small, and medium. We are giving priority (of inspection) to those gaming zones where the footfall is high.”

With the Gujarat High Court taking suo motu cognizance of the issue on Sunday, the officer added, all the municipal corporations are likely to present their data before the court on Monday.

Further, the state government is also likely to complete the process of laying an SOP for the operation of amusement parks and gaming zones in the state in a month’s time.

A senior government officer privy to the development said, “After the Harni boat tragedy in Vadodara (in January), the High Court had directed the government to frame rules for boating. And then Gujarat Maritime Board has prepared rules and temporary guidelines (for boating) are also issued by the Home Department. Those rules are likely to be notified within a month’s time.” Fourteen people were killed when a boat carrying school students capsized at Harni lake in Vadodara in January.

“During this period, we also took up the matter of framing rules to regulate amusement parks (which will also cover gaming zones). A presentation of these rules was already done before the top level in the government (before the Rajkot tragedy). Once the rules are notified, it will be supported by SOP, checklist and guidelines,” the officer added.

According to sources, these rules to regulate amusement parks or gaming zones will be formed under the provisions of the Gujarat Police Act.

The state government is expected to give these details to the High Court on Monday when it takes up the hearing of the latest Rajkot tragedy.

In 2019, two people were killed and nearly 30 were injured after a joyride collapsed at an amusement park near Kankaria lakefront in Ahmedabad. The government had formed a high level committee to study norms and rules being implemented in parks in other states in the country, and even in foreign countries to avoid mishaps in future.