Ludhiana: After serving notices to around 25 commercial establishments that did not have the required fire safety arrangements, fire officials did not follow up with the inspection, which they attributed to shortage of staff in the department and paucity of time.
On the other hand, the Municipal Corporation (MC) officials assured that they would take action and asked fire officials to ensure safety arrangements at commercial establishments.
Fire officials had started serving notices to commercial establishments including restaurants, coaching centers and institutes in March. The disputed establishments were given some time before on-site inspections, but officials never visited the premises.
No check on fire safety equipment, NOC
mc commissioner Shena Agarwal The fire brigade was specifically directed to conduct random inspections in commercial and industrial buildings as well as coaching centers to ensure that they have installed necessary fire safety equipment. The officials were also directed to take action against those who violated the rules but this did not happen.
MC officials said that in 2022, the civic body had issued a public notice asking building owners across the city to obtain a fire safety NOC (no-objection certificate) from the fire brigade. However, the operation could not be continued due to shortage of personnel in the fire department.
A fire department official said that due to shortage of manpower in the fire brigade, the risk of fire has increased in the summer season. Admitting that it would be difficult for them to conduct any inspection at this juncture, he said the building branch should be directed to take provisional NOC before approving building plans.
Zonal commissioner Neeraj Jain said, “I have once again asked the concerned fire officials to resume their operations and complete the process expeditiously.”
In most of the fire cases, the affected premises have been found to lack fire protection systems and equipment.
