MARGAO
In the wake of the early Saturday morning fire at the Margao Municipal New Market, a critical question is now doing the rounds: are the nearly 400 shops in the market equipped with basic fire safety tools such as first-aid fire extinguishers?
The question gains significance against the backdrop of the recommendations issued by Fire Services following the December 26, 2024 blaze. At the time, the department had clearly directed the Margao Municipal Council (MMC), the licensing authority for the market, to ensure that every shop owner installs a minimum of two first-aid fire extinguishers as a mandatory safety measure.
Fire officials had gone a step further by specifying the type of equipment required. They recommended that each shop be equipped with an ABC-type fire extinguisher of 4 kg capacity to tackle general fires, along with a COâ‚‚-type extinguisher of 2 kg capacity specifically for electrical fires”both considered essential in a densely packed commercial complex like the New Market.
However, the key question remains unanswered: has there been any effort by the civic administration to enforce these directives? There is little clarity on whether successive Chief Officers of the MMC, or even the municipal engineer and his team, ever carried out inspections to verify compliance among shopkeepers.
With the latest fire incident once again exposing glaring vulnerabilities, the apparent lack of enforcement of even basic fire safety norms has raised serious concerns. Traders and citizens are now questioning whether the lessons from past incidents have been ignored, leaving the market”and hundreds of livelihoods”at continued risk.
