Ludhiana is the biggest city in Punjab with a population of over 1.6 million according to the 2011 census. In the past one year, there were series of fire mishaps in the city and there seems to be no action taken by the authorities to prevent such disasters in the future.  

Here are a few major fire accidents of Ludhiana in the last one year

1. Fire accident in a multi-story building in November 2017:

This is one of the worst disasters in India in the year 2017. The fire accident occurred in a four-storey plastic manufacturing unit in Suffian Chowk killed 13 out of which 9 firemen lost their lives. The fire started from the chemical barrels stored inside the factory and spread rapidly. Soon the entire building collapsed leaving many trapped inside. It took hours for the fire department and the disaster response force to conduct the rescue operation. The factory was allegedly flouting fire safety norms and there were many irregularities.

2. Rahon Road accident in May 2017:

A fire broke out on a textile factory in Rahon road killed 3 laborers. The bodies were charred beyond identification. The cause of the incident is not known. But, it is alleged that the factory did not have any firefighting system or a fire extinguisher or an emergency exit. In this case, there was a serious negligence of laws by the owner of the factory.

Source: Hindustan Times

3. Jainish Nagar hosiery unit in October 2017

This major fire accident occurred in a hosiery unit in Maharaja Ranjith Singh Park. There were no casualties reported. But, in this case, the industrial unit was operating in a busy residential area. It took 10 hours for the firefighters to douse the fire and the building collapsed in this process. According to the report, the factory was operating in the town planning area, where industries are not supposed to operate. During this incident, many of the residences around the hosiery unit were affected due to the smoke and heat.

Source: Hindustan Times

4. Bindra colony April 2018

A short-circuit on a small business unit on the ground floor of a residential building spread to the first floor in early hours. Four members of a family residing on the first floor received severe burn injuries, which included a 3.5-year-old girl child. The fire spread rapidly because of the combustible materials stored in the business unit.

Source: Times Of India

5. Fire accident in a scrap shed on May 2018

The fire caused by a spark from wires in a scrap shed in Naali Mohalla gutted the entire shed and spread to the nearby residences. Allegedly, the residents have complained about sparks from the dangling wires and there seemed to be no action taken by the concerned authorities. Luckily, there were no casualties but there were significant damages to the properties of the residents.

Source: Tribune

These were some of the major accidents, but there were many other notable ones that have happened in Ludhiana over the last one year.

Here are a few accidents, other than the ones mentioned above, in the last two months.

1. Fire in furniture unit on May 24, 2018, in Fakir Chand Mohalla – The factory had no fire safety system in place and the workers could not control the fire. There were no casualties and the fire gutted the entire factory. (Source: Tribune)
2. Materials worth crores were gutted in a fire accident in a plywood factory on April 28, 2018, in Dhandhari.
3. An electrical short-circuit in a garment factory in Nanakpura on April 5, 2018, led to a major fire mishap.  

What could be the common observations from these incidents?

In most of these incidents, there are many fire safety violations and there was no action taken against the violators. This shows that there is a serious flaw in the system that regulates fire safety in Punjab. These were some cases that have surfaced, but there are more waiting to happen if the concerned authorities do not take necessary action immediately.

Even after the fateful plastic factory accident in November 2017, it is shocking to note that the authorities did not expedite the processes of inspection and fire safety audit in the industries of Ludhiana.

In sum, both the citizens who violate and the authorities who have to check for violations are failing to make the city fire safe.

Does it mean that all the other states are safe?

Industries flouting fire safety norms is nothing new to India. In a recent inspection conducted in Odisha, it is found that out of 26 buildings, none had the proper firefighting system in place. In Mumbai alone, there were 4592 buildings were issued notices from the Mumbai Fire Brigade for flouting fire safety norms. But the action was taken only against 17 buildings.

The cities in India with rapid urbanization, there is a huge spike in the fire incidents. The fire departments are not equipped with manpower or resources to cater to the needs of the developing areas.  

There were many fire accidents in the past that clearly showed laxity in fire safety law enforcement. We are only refusing to learn our lessons and wait for another disaster to happen.

It is high-time to take a serious look at the fire safety norms of our country to prevent such mishaps in the future. The industries in India must come under a tight scanner and violators of fire safety laws must be strictly penalized. Only then there shall be adherence to the fire safety laws.

Sources:

Image: wikimediacommons.org

Reference: Times of India