Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Fire at six-storeyed Satpura Bhavan triggered panic in public about safety of high rise buildings in Bhopal like malls, hospitals, hostels and residential complexes. There are many high rise buildings like Betwa and Triveni at Roshanpura Square. Excerpts of what residents said:
Well-equipped
Madhya Pradesh Housing and Infrastructure Development Board chairman Chandramauli Shukla said, “People fear if it is difficult to extinguish fire in 6-storeyed building, how they will be safe in 25-storeyed buildings. We want to make it clear that 25-storeyed buildings like Tulsi Green are well-equipped to handle fire incidents.”
Defunct system
CREDAI spokesman Manoj Meek said, “Entire system has become defunct. If 65-year- old building does not have hydrant and sprinklers, who is responsible. This is condition of main government administrative buildings. Government penalises private developers and organisation if such incidents occur. Now it is in a sorry state of its own.”
System collapsed
Rajendra Kothari, resident of Betwa Apartment, said, “We have water hydrants for extinguishing fire since 1975. Why it was not provided in Satpura Bhavan. It shows that entire system has collapsed. Smart City is being developed without consulting BHEL, HEG, and smart sections of the society. Fire incident is a big blot on government and administrative officials.”
Major fire incidents in MP
* April 2012: Major fire in multi-storeyed BSNL office-cum-exchange situated at Royal Market area.
* October 2012: Massive fire at BHEL plant after 200 KW transformer exploded.
* October 2013: Fire at Nanke Petrol pump left two injured.
* November 2021: Fire at SNCU of Kamla Nehru Hospital (Hamidia Hospital) left four kids dead.
* August 2022: Fire at New Life Multi-speciality Hospital in Jabalpur left eight dead.
