BENGALURU: FKCCI, trade bodies, Mayor and BBMP commissioner will be bombarded with letters to make the Central Business District (CBD) of the city, comprising Chickpet, Cottonpet, Sultanpet and other areas, safe from fire accidents, said Mr Sajjan Raj Mehta, a trader from the area, on Monday, a day after a blaze claimed the lives of 43 labourers in New Delhi.
CBD generates big revenues and provides employment to at least two lakh people, but the areas have been ignored as far as fire safety is concerned, Mr Mehta pointed out.
A fire station is located close to Gandhinagar, which is just one kilometre away, but fire engines take at least an hour to reach a fire accident spot in the area because of narrow and congested roads.
The civic body, city traffic police and other civic agencies have not thought of ways to get casualties out and let fire engines into the area in case of fires, he lamented.
“The roads are so narrow that even mini ambulances cannot move fast to attend to emergencies. Since the CBD was planned long back, the BBMP must have made some provisions for parking and taken up other safety measures while constructing new buildings. But no corrective or preventive measures have been taken. This has put the lives of at least three lakh people at risk. At least two lakh people work in CBD areas that see at least one lakh footfalls every day, he said.
The BBMP must strictly enforce fire safety measures at all buildings. The fire and emergency department must own and run mini-ambulances with long and strong pipes to douse fires, he saud.
The fire and emergency department should recce these areas and be prepared for any eventuality.
The areas must be secured like Metro stations. Otherwise, the damage and loss would be huge, Mr Mehta said.
BESCOM should gear up to prevent any casualty and should ensure that no wires are dangling dangerously. It is time for Bescom to act, said another trader Manish Jain.
