Come Sashthi 2016, it will once again be a careless carnival of over 160 Durga Pujas in capital Ranchi without the guarantee of fire safety.
If sources are to be believed, not even half a dozen pandals this year have applied for the mandatory no-objection certificate, which is obtained by adhering to a set of guidelines that the state fire department now plans to advertise in newspapers on Panchami on Thursday.
Doranda fire station in-charge Raj Kishore Singh said there were 24 pandals under his jurisdiction, and only three or four had sought the fire NOC so far. He, however, couldn’t name these safe pandals.
Besides Doranda, the capital has three more fire stations at Audrey House, Piska and Dhurwa. Doranda and Audrey House exercise jurisdictions over larger parts of the city.
Dhurwa fire officer Chamu Sundi maintained that among the 15-odd pandals under his watch, none had applied for the NOC or sought guidance to make firefighting arrangements. Sources at Piska and Audrey House echoed Sundi.
Doranda fire officer Singh, who along with an administrative team surveyed a dozen pandals between Tuesday and Wednesday, maintained that none could be called fire-safe.
“No measures have been taken at these pandals to prevent a fire or minimise losses in the event of one. No pandal material has been treated with fire retardant chemicals, a fundamental prerequisite during Durga Puja, which witnesses heavy footfall. Every organiser we met promised to make all arrangements soon. As far as applications for NOC are concerned, no one takes us seriously,” Singh said.
State fire officer R.K. Thakur complained that Puja organisers never involved his department in the inception stage and then it was always too late to intervene because no one wanted to spoil the festive mood.
“If they consult us at the planning stage, we can easily cut down the risk factor by half. For instance, meandering or cave-like pandal entry must be avoided to leave bigger room for escape in case of a fire. Pandal building material should be dipped in a fire retardant solution, dried and then used. These can minimise risk by more than 80 percent,” Thakur explained.
Elaborating on the fire checklist, the senior official said use of synthetic fabric and similar inflammable materials was a strict no-no. Approach roads to every pandal should be wide and free of encumbrances. Similarly, entry and exit points of pandals should be big – at least 2.1 metres in height and 1.25 metres in width. At big draw pandals, there should at least be two exits, which must again be adequately illuminated.
“Electrical cables should be properly insulated while minimum provision for water and sand must be made. Around 4kg dry chemical powder should be in stock to douse an electrical fire,” the fire officer said.
Thakur maintained that they didn’t have the power to crack down on offenders yet. “Jharkhand does not have its own fire services and safety act. A draft is currently pending at the government level. As and when it is approved, the department will get the power to act tough. The draft talks about penalty provisions,” he said, adding that they were currently guided by an archaic fire safety law of Bihar.
Munchun Roy, president of Ranchi Mahanagar Zilla Durga Puja Samiti and Ranchi Railway Puja Samiti, said he held a safety review meeting with organisers on Wednesday evening. “Directives have been issued to Puja organisers. They will try to comply by Sashthi.”
Thakur said his department was, however, prepared to tackle emergencies from its end. “According to plan, fire tenders will be stationed at Sadar, Firayalal, Sukhdeonagar, Doranda, Jagannathpur and Tupudana areas. We have 20 fire tenders, big and small, which are enough for Ranchi. As far as water is concerned, we have adequate resources.”
Date: October 07, 2016