BHOPAL: The old Bhopal area that is heavily crowded in vulnerable to any fire incident, like that of Tuesday that left one dead. The fire broke out in a building on Tuesday evening and after it spread on the other floors, a shopkeeper had died. The area is unsafe as no fire safety arrangement is available in the area and after any fire breaks out, the fire tenders are the only way for dousing flames.
The fire spread because the fire tenders were unable to work as the whole area is blocked due to illegally parked vehicles. The other things that worsen the arrangements in the area are illegal loading autos that ply in the area, even during daytime. On the top of that even heavy trucks ply in day time. This leads to heavy congestion in the area that restricts any rescue work in the hours of crisis.
On the other hand, the transformers are also encroached and that in case of any short circuit, the inferno is inevitable. The whole area including Mangalwara, Itwara, Jumerati, Chowk and others nearby get encroached due to illegally parked vehicles of traders and visitors as even the area has two multi-level parking’ developed for them, they avoid it and park the vehicles in front of their shops only. The fire safety arrangements at the market level are also not working.
A gas insulated transformer that was inaugurated with fanfare as it was state’s first transformer to work on gas insulation, is yet to start operations even after 1.5 years of its bhoomi pujan near Kotwali police station. The transformer is installed near Kotwali police station and earlier there were objections raised by the police for the use of the land. However, even after the work started the transformer is yet to start working.
The fire high dent installed at Chintaman Chowk in old Bhopal is also not working. It was supposed to provide water for firefighting but the high dent is yet to start working. The transporters have time and again refused to shift to Transport Nagar even when a large area of over 100 acres was allotted to them, few years ago. Their trucks and other autos keep the troubling the movement of other vehicles in old Bhopal. Ranbir Singh, additional commissioner in the BMC says that the transporters will be asked to shift their heavy trucks outside the limits of the area. Singh said the transformer in the area was also installed in wrong way and we have proposed an inquiry into it.
