Rajkot fire fallout: Bharuch under scrutiny for negligence of safety norms
Bharuch, May 31 – The recent TRP Game Zone disaster in Rajkot, which resulted in 27 fatalities, has triggered a wave of safety inspections across Gujarat.
Following the Gujarat High Court’s orders, all municipal corporations must inspect game zones within their jurisdictions.
The state government has extended these inspections to include temples, mosques, schools, colleges, malls, tuition centres, theaters, and food markets in densely-populated areas.
Establishments found lacking necessary permissions and No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the fire department will face legal action.
Sources shared that district authorities have begun inspecting game zones, hospitals, and educational institutions in Bharuch.
Two game zones have already been issued closure notices for lacking fire NOCs.
Concerns have also been raised about the fire safety compliance of government offices in the district.
Chirag Desai, Bharuch Municipality’s Fire Officer stated, “We are currently inspecting game zones, schools, classes, and hospitals. Where deficiencies are found, we ensure corrections and issue notices for missing NOCs or necessary permissions. After private establishments, we will inspect government offices to evaluate their fire safety measures. Any office found lacking will be issued notices, just like private entities.”
Inspections revealed that only the offices of the Collector, Mamlatdar, and Nagar Palika had usable fire extinguishers. Other government offices, including the District Panchayat, had expired extinguishers.
Notably, extinguishers in the District Panchayat office expired in May 2020 and January 2024, while multi-story buildings had extinguishers with 2021 manufacturing stickers but no recorded expiry dates, sources added.
Only the Collector and Mamlatdar offices had multiple exit routes, providing evacuation options in case of fire.
Other offices, such as the Nagar Palika and District Panchayat, had a single exit. Sources added that some officials needed to be made aware of who was responsible for refilling fire extinguishers.
