KOZHIKODE: The protest by the merchants that their daily sales were being affected by the inspections of the Corporation and Fire and Rescue department has forced the team to wrap up checks by Wednesday. Fire and rescue officials said that nearly 70 per cent of the checks were over and the rest would be completed after Vishu. Though the security at SM Street was an eye opener after the recent major fire in February which destroyed nine rooms of a three-storey building, the merchants say that frequent inspections were affecting their increased sales because of Vishu. Assistant divisional officer Arun Bhaskar said that since more than half of the inspections were complete and corrective measures were carried out, they were safer.
“Vishu is a season of concern, especially with the sale of crackers and related materials. The crowd at the shops, especially on narrow roads like SM Street add to worries. However, unlike before, more fire extinguishers are purchased by shop owners and the employees are being trained,” the officer added. A series of meetings chaired by the District Collector and Fire officers were held to educate and convince merchants on safety aspects, soon after the fire tragedy. The regular checks at SM Street followed those meetings. Free training programmes for the merchants and staff were also held.
