PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Taking a lesson from the Lucknow fire incident that claimed 15 lives on Monday, the Uttarakhand government has decided to conduct a fire safety audit of all the hospitals, coaching centres, malls, hotels, commercial establishments and other buildings across the State. An order in this regard was given by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami during a high level meeting at the State secretariat on Tuesday.
On a stern note, the CM said that public safety is among the top priorities of the State government and any negligence in compliance with fire safety standards will not be tolerated.
In the meeting, the CM directed the officers to immediately identify institutions where fire fighting systems do not meet prescribed standards and ensure necessary corrective action. He said that the functioning of fire safety equipment, emergency exit routes, electrical safety systems and preparations for rapid evacuation in the event of a disaster should be specifically tested.
Dhami directed the officials to complete the fire safety audit process in a time-bound manner by establishing coordination between the Fire department, district administrations and the departments concerned.
The chief secretary Anand Bardhan also ordered all secretaries and district magistrates to conduct mandatory on-site surveys, especially of high-rise buildings, highly congested areas, premises with unsafe escape routes and buildings located in narrow streets. The CS asked all the secretaries to conduct a comprehensive safety audit of their respective departments and related sectors.
