Major fire safety violations detected at Punjab and Haryana Secretariat

Municipal Corporation conducted checks,found balconies covered and emergency staircases locked,has served notice for compliance

Municipal Corporation conducted checks,found balconies covered and emergency staircases locked,has served notice for compliance

With balconies being covered and emergency staircases locked,the Punjab and Haryana Secretariat has violations galore with scant regard being paid to fire safety norms. The recent fire at Mantralaya in Mumbai seems to have taught no lessons to the authorities here despite incidents of fire having occurred at the Secretariat in the past. After the incidents of fire,Municipal Corporation had conducted checks at the Secretariat and finding violations had served notice for compliance with the norms. A follow-up on whether the violations have been removed or not is yet to be done.

One of the problems that the fire-fighting team found during the fire that broke out in January last year at the Haryana Secretariat was that the balconies of the rooms had been covered. The balconies themselves have been converted into rooms that are being used by the staff.

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At places junk material was stored in the balconies. These create a hindrance for the firemen to reach the source of the fire to douse the flames and could lead to a major tragedy. On pretext of security concerns,the safety aspect is being compromised at the Secretariat. The offices of the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana are housed in the building.

The MC team that had inspected the Secretariat building had found the emergency exits to be blocked. The team also found that some parts of the Secretariat could only be accessed through a lift as the staircases had been locked. The keys were with an administrative officer. The issue had been raised at a meeting of the fire officials with the in-charge at the Secretariat. In case of a fire,lifts cannot be used for escaping.

An official of the fire wing says,”There were numerous violations of fire safety norms that were found in the building after which the officials who are in charge at the Secretariat were asked to make certain changes. Inspection of the building is likely to be conducted shortly. It was suggested that instead of locking the staircases,attendants could be deployed during the day who could keep a check on the entry of visitors. At night these could be locked.” A proposal to construct a fire station at the Capitol Complex was mooted after a fire at the High Court. The aim was to have emergency services easily available in case of a fire.

However,no action has yet been taken. Officials state that more than a decade back,foundation stone of a fire station near the Secretariat was laid but the construction never started and then the project never saw the light of the day. In fact,this is the condition of many government buildings. A mock drill conducted at the Haryana Secretariat in Sector 17 had highlighted several problems that were present here.

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