11 January,2018 11:30 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Sakinaka farsan factory fire
The civic body has suspended a sanitary inspector for negligence in duty and four officers of the building and factory department face a departmental inquiry in the Sakinaka blaze. Preliminary report has revealed short circuit as the cause of the fire, which mid-day had been the first to report.
The fire had broken out at a 1,800-sqft farsan factory on December 18, killing 12 workers. According to the officials, the collapse of the structure and cylinders blocking the passage may have made it difficult for the workers to escape.
The report, which has been submitted to Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, states that the area doesn't fall under BMC's jurisdiction, and hence, the illegal construction of a mezzanine floor had not come up on its radar.
Officials, however, said the ward officials should have forwarded any kind of malpractices noticed in the area to the authorities concerned, which wasn't done, and therefore, a departmental inquiry has been initiated against officials of building and factory department, to be carried out by the L ward officer.
A senior civic official said, "The sanitary inspector is responsible for surveying all places in the city and should know what irregularities are there in different areas; the inspector is also supposed to keep tabs on who is storing how many cylinders and take appropriate action. This was neglected; so, he has to face action."
Under scanner
BMC has decided to form 34 Fire Safety Implementation Cells across various fire stations to monitor fire safety in restaurants and compliance of norms. These teams will include officials from health, building and factory, and fire departments.
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