05 November,2020 06:47 AM IST | Mumbai | The Editorial
The fire in the City Centre Mall was extinguished after 56 hours. File pic
Recently, a fire broke out at a South Mumbai mall, that was considered significant though there were no casualties. It is suspected that a short circuit was reason for the blaze. Residents of a high-rise building next to the mall had to be evacuated for safety measures.
The action was swift and one has to be thankful that there were no deaths.
Pay special attention though now to reports that the structure is considered unsafe as there was some damage and shops will have to wait till a structural audit is done by the civic body, and recommended repairs can begin.
If some outside repairs are recommended, it becomes imperative that those responsible begin them at once so that the process of making the mall fit for commercial use begins again.
The shop owners and main mall owner now have to come together and look at how they go about getting an audit done and most importantly, once it is done, follow the guidelines, caution and recommendations of the experts in the audit.
How many times have we heard of structures caving in, because the mandatory structural audit was not done. or, simply that the audit recommendation of repairs was not started on one pretext or the other.
Let us see unity and logic come together. The outside repairs that can begin, must be done as soon as possible.Acknowledging that these are difficult times economically, it is imperative though that the process is set into motion.
One has to also factor in that keeping a structure like this in limbo may also pose a hazard to those in the vicinity.
Take a serious view of the situation, quit passing the buck and dilly dallying about decisions and make this mall safe once again.
Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.
Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news
