Hyderabad: Taking suo moto cognizance of the Mukherjee Nagar fire incident, Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Police and MCD and sought their response within two weeks.
The Court also directed the Delhi Fire Service to conduct a fire safety audit and to check whether or not fire safety certificates were issued. On Thursday, a fire broke out at a coaching centre located in a multi-storied building in the Mukherjee Nagar area. Several terrified students were seen escaping by precariously dangling from a rope after the blaze.
The onlookers watched helplessly as several terrified students were seen escaping using the rope. The cause of the fire is still unknown. As many as 11 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. A political slugfest ensued between the BJP and AAP over the incident. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla targeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleging a lack of fore safety in Delhi's high-rise buildings. "Fire safety comes under Delhi govt & MCD is also run by AAP- when was the last fire safety audit done? Are these places following fire safety protocols? Are they paying bribes and bypassing rules? Why no action? What are you waiting for?" he wrote in a Tweet.
He also raised a question as to why has fire safety budget been cut last year. Giving details of a number of fire incidents, Poonawalla said in 2022, there were 16,500 fires and 82 people lost their lives. He alleged that the ruling government is busy in politicking even as major fire incidents have caused huge damage to properties in Delhi.
