Fire Safety: Only Two Coaching Centres Sealed Despite Notice To 42 In Bhopal

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday sealed two coaching institutes, Unacademy and Durrani Coaching Classes, in MP Nagar despite issuing 42 notices over fire safety violations during a recent inspection drive.

The drive was launched after a recent fire incident in Lucknow triggered a review of fire safety compliance across Bhopal's educational institutions catering to nearly 2.5 lakh students.

The notices were issued on June 25 after inspections uncovered serious fire safety violations, including poor ventilation and expired fire extinguishers.

Fire safety violations

At Unacademy, officials found blocked Manual Call Point (MCP) units, no emergency exit arrangements, fire hydrants disconnected from generator backup and not operating in auto mode, inadequate ventilation on multiple floors, and expired fire extinguishers.

At Durrani Coaching Classes, fire extinguishers had expired, the fire hydrant water supply had been shut off and diverted for other purposes, while emergency staircases and proper ventilation on the upper floors were missing.

Additional Commissioner Tanmay V Sharma told Free Press that notices have been issued to 42 institutes in different phases, giving them seven days to rectify deficiencies. Cases of institutes that have responded on time will be considered, but no compromise on safety standards. Enforcement action will continue wherever violations persist," he said.