90 percent buildings in Balasore lack fire safety systems; a report
Balasore: 90 percent of the malls and buildings built in Balasore city of Odisha do not have fire safety systems. Recently, a fire broke out in a four-storey mall in the middle of the city, destroying property worth crores of rupees.
Out of hundreds of buildings in the city, only 9 have taken fire safety licenses. The building owners are directly violating the laws regarding fire safety. As a result, property worth crores of rupees is being destroyed and lives are being endangered.
Balasore city cannot easily escape major fire accidents. Along with faulty building construction, non-spacious, narrow streets, the buildings under construction and those built in the city do not have fire safety systems.
For years, shopping malls, clinics, and hotels have been running in many such multi-storeyed buildings. But according to the report of the Balasore Fire Department, 90 percent of the buildings do not have fire safety systems.
Surprisingly, big buildings are being built every day in Balasore city. Only 9 people, that is, 9 buildings have fire safety systems, and the owners of the buildings have taken fire safety licenses. During this year, the fire department has written more than 100 letters to various malls for fire safety systems. But no one is willing to obey the law.
Balasore, the oldest municipality in the state, has completed 150 years. But the urban system has not been systematized. Many tall buildings have been built without planning. As per the government guidelines, there is no fire safety system in any tall building in the city.
According to the data of the fire department, notices have been issued to 23 big institutions and more than 100 individuals and institutions to install fire safety systems. Among them are some of the well-known jewelry shops, banks, seafood units, shopping malls, etc. in the city. But no one pays attention to the notices of the fire department.
On the one hand, the number of staff in the fire department is low. The department does not have the required number of staff, and there are only 2 drivers for 10 vehicles. So, the fire department is not able to carry out visual inspections properly.
Who can say that an incident like Banaja Bengals will not happen again in Balasore city in the coming days, where property worth about Rs 5 crore was engulfed due to a fire mishap in this four-storey building recently?
There is a rule that a shopping mall or multi-storey building can be built only after obtaining a license from the fire department. Licenses are issued by the Balasore fire department for buildings less than 15 meters high. If we look at the geographical situation, most of the houses in the city have been built without town planning. No one is paying attention to fire safety, for fear of money expenditure, and this is not a good symbol.
