Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam demanded a comprehensive inquiry to be set up in the frequent fire incidents which have claimed 20 lives in Mumbai in the past 12 days. He further demanded a proper judicial probe to be conducted and headed by the sitting judge of Bombay High Court.
Sanjay Nirupam said, “The 15-storey residential building in Chembur which caught fire yesterday did not have any fire extinguishers. The residents of the building are agitated over the fact that the builder has ran away and the NOC from the Fire Department was not obtained. The Fire Department comes under BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and the fact that people are losing their lives every day in Mumbai indicate the failure on the part of the BMC Commissioner. Ajoy Mehta seems to be keen on giving concessions to the builders rather than working towards ensuring a safe life to the Mumbaikars. It seems that despite being the head of the civic body, Mehta has not given a thought to the increasing fire incidents killing people across the city everyday”.
“The ruling BJP- Shiv Sena combined in BMC is more interested in benefitting the builder lobby rather than providing safety to the Mumbaikars. The officers who are responsible for the negligence displayed by the BMC must be booked irrespective of their seniority in the civic body. The fact that almost 2 people are losing their lives every day in the city is not a normal phenomenon. The seriousness of the issue needs to be understood, acted upon and a comprehensive inquiry must be set up immediately”, added Nirupam.
A series of tragic fire incidents are taking place across Mumbai killing innocent people every day. 11 people have lost their lives in the fire which broke out in Andheri’s ESIC Kamgar Hospital on December 17, 4 people were killed after a fire broke out in a garment factory in Kandivali’s Damu Nagar on December 23 and 5 people lost their lives in the fire which broke out on the 14th floor in Chembur’s Sargam Society on December 27. More than a dozen fire incidents have taken place in the past 12 days.
The Mumbai Congress Unit Chief also claimed that the BMC has not learned from the unfortunate Kamala Mills Fire incident which claimed 14 lives last year.
