MARGAO
A meeting called by the District Disaster Management Authority post-fire incident at the Margao Municipal-owned New Market on Tuesday has exposed the authorities hollow on fire safety preparedness in the New Market and the Gandhi market despite the fact that these congested markets have been prone to fires over the years.
What further transpired during the meeting chaired by Additional Collector, South Dipak Desai and attended by officials representing the Fire Services, Electricity, Margao Municipal Council or the PWD, Water Supply that no audit was ever conducted of the congested markets be it on fire safety preparedness, increase in power load and illegal tapping of power connections, the actual number of shops and establishments located in the New Market and the Gandhi market et al.
That’s not all. What took the participants at the meeting aback was the statement made by a senior PWD, Water Supply official stating that the proposal to lay a network of fire hydrants in and around the New Market and the Gandhi Market was abandoned after floating a tender for want of expenditure sanction from the government to execute the work.
With the needle of suspicion on the New Market fire incident pointed at the increase in load with the installation of air-conditioners, a visibly agitated Additional Collector sought to know from the Power officials whether the department would conduct regular checking of increase in load or would wait for fire incidents to take place to initiate the exercise. Treat the fire incident as an eye opener and initiate a drive to ascertain the increase of load by the shops and establishments and initiate action, he told the Power officials.
Fire safety issues
A senior fire official submitted at the meeting that the fire services had been sending recommendations to the authorities since the last one decade to tone up the fire preparedness infrastructure in the New Market and Gandhi Market, but in vain.
The fire officer pointed out that the department had in the past recommended fire safety measures, including installation of an overhead water tank and reviving the defunct fire hydrant, but the same has not been implemented till date.
In fact, when the Additional Collector sought to know whether the fire services have conducted inspections, if any, to find out whether the shops in the congested market, are equipped with fire fighting appliances, the fire officer pointed out that the Fire Department no longer issues NOC for shops and establishments with an area admeasuring less than 100 square metres.
Power issues
Power officials attending the meeting called by the Additional Collector whether the Electricity Department has conducted any survey of the market area for possible increase in load by the shops and establishment in violation of the rules.
The power officials conceded that no such survey has been conducted till date, with an official pointing out that the department conducts a random survey in the market area to check misuse of the load norms.
Apparently unhappy over the reply, the Additional Collector told the power officials to check all the shops and establishments on the load increase, urging the officials to treat the New Market incident as a wakeup call. “Check all the big establishments first whether they are using power load beyond the sanctioned capacity. Survey the shops and submit a report to the authority,” Desai said.
Water supply issues
Officials representing the PWD, Water Supply submitted before the Additional Collector that the department had over half a decade ago proposed a network of fire hydrants in the market area as part of the fire safety plan. The official, however, lamented that the plan did not take off after the government did not accord the expenditure sanction for the project even though the department had tendered the project and shortlisted the contractor.
In view of the latest fire incident, the water supply official said the department will revive the proposal by preparing fresh estimates. The official, however, said that the overhead water tank can become a reality only if land is made available to build the facility.
