PANAJI
Goa seems to be playing with fire -- literally. Despite the grim lessons from past incidents, where fire incidents at several places have ravaged properties and public trust alike, the State continues to ignore crucial fire safety norms.
Alarmingly, even the government buildings, hospitals, the Secretariat, Ministerial Block, and the historic Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula are ticking time bombs, waiting to ignite.
Shockingly, even the just-concluded monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly took place in the Complex where fire protection measures were not operational.
The neglect extends beyond government buildings. The sacred Basilica of Bom Jesus, a UNESCO World Heritage site where the decennial exposition is scheduled this November, is also at risk. The Directorate of Fire & Emergency Services (DFES) recommended fire safety measures in 2019, but compliance is still awaited.
Out of 73 government-owned buildings equipped with fire protection systems, a significant number have non-functional equipment with no efforts made to rectify the situation.
Besides those identified above, several other key facilities including Ravindra Bhavan at Sanquelim, Mathany Saldanha Administrative Complex in Margao, and the Goa Medical College in Bambolim, are all perilously unprepared for fire emergencies.
The government revealed these lapses to an unstarred question tabled by MLA Venzy Veigas.
Further troubling is the fact that the Forest Department’s office in Altinho and Kala Bhavan in Sancoale among several others remain non-compliant with fire safety recommendations issued by the DFES. Even the newly constructed 17 Hub Office Building for the Department of Information Technology in Panaji is at risk, with its fire protection measures installed but non-functional.
Adding to the list of endangered sites are the New Indoor Hall at Peddem Sports Complex, Community Health Centres at Valpoi and Sanquelim, the Super Speciality Block at Goa Medical College in Bambolim, and the Ponda Municipal Market Complex, etc, all of which have seen their No Objection Certificates (NOCs) expire.
The situation is equally dire at the Police Headquarters, where senior officers operate in a building that has failed to comply with fire safety recommendations dating back to January 2017. This site is just one among over a hundred that have yet to address critical fire safety requirements.
