Hyderabad records 132 fire incidents, 37 deaths this year

It has been observed that in many of the cases, fire broke out in illegal chemical warehouses. Even though complaints were lodged, concerned authorities neither inspected the sites nor took any action, locals alleged.

Hyderabad: Telangana recorded a total of 132 fire incidents this year that have claimed 37 lives. This comes even as chemical warehouses are allowed to operate in populated areas while no measures are taken by the relevant authorities. Also, hoarding of illegal chemicals in houses continue and no inspections are conducted despite receiving complaints.

On Monday, nine people died in a fire that broke out in Hyderabad's Nampally Bazarghat. Locals alleged that they have complained several times that chemicals are being stored illegally in the cellar of the fire-hit building but they were ignored. As per norm, permission is required from local bodies to operate chemical warehouses but the rules were flouted here.

The issue of illegal warehouses comes to light only when accidents occur. It is prohibited to store chemicals in residential areas. A proposal to shift about 1,350 industries in red and orange sections within the outer ring road of Hyderabad was prepared some time back but it has not been implemented.

According to reports, a large number of fire incidents occur due to hoarding of materials in violation of the rules. In 2021, there were 139 fire incidents, in 2022 the incidents rose to 236 and in 2023, 132 incidents of fire were recorded across the state. In the last one and a half year, there has been five major fire incidents in Hyderabad including the Bazarghat accident and nearly 37 people lost their lives.

In March 2022, 11 Bihari migrant workers were charred to death in a warehouse in Boiguda, Secunderabad. Eight people were killed and 11 were injured after fire broke out in the cellar of Secunderabad's Ruby Hotel in September 2022. It was revealed that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the showroom of electric bikes in the cellar

Last January, three migrant workers from Bihar lost their lives in a fire at the Deccan Knitwear Sportsshop in Nallagutta, Secunderabad. Firefighters had to struggle hard for about 10 hours to bring the fire under control. Later, this illegal construction was demolished.

On March 17, 2017, six employees of Qnet were killed in a fire accident at Swapnalok Complex in Secunderabad