Monday 11 July 2016

PUBLIC APATHY TOWARDS CIVIC RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES





                                                         


The purpose of this article is to trigger discussion why normal law abiding, educated Indians like you and me take the stance of a passive observer when some one or a group acts right before us in a unlawful way no matter such an act some time or the other may prove harmful to us and lead to untold misery and even death. In other words why do we like to be silent sufferers? 

This question came up in my mind when I read the statement of a person who was working in some establishment in Carlton Tower and had suffered a loss. His remark was some thing like this. "We had seen fire exits being blocked but did not object then. Now I feel we should have done so". Clearly a hindsight.

A fire broke out on 23 Feb 2010 at Carlton Towers- a commercial high rise 8 storey building on Old Airport Road, in which 9 people died, 70 were injured and property worth lakhs was destroyed. Out of the injured 22 people became critically ill because of asphyxiation (inhalation of carbon monoxide and some other fumes). They were admitted to a nearby hospital and after spending a few days in Intensive Care Unit are reported to have been discharged. The building is still not put back into use even though more than one and half months have elapsed. Many small and big establishments, besides suffering assets damage are also facing uncertainty as to when they will resume normal activities and where? The fire was attributed to short circuit in the cable used for lift service. Fire and smoke travelled swiftly through lift well and cable duct and engulfed two floors. It appears 15 fire tenders were rushed. But they arrived late because of the traffic congestion on the road. Commuters in India do not appreciate the urgency and do not give way to ambulances and fire tenders as is done in other countries. And the ladder available could barely reach fourth floor. Other things like safety nets, were found wanting. All this is no surprise. It is the same story which repeats with minor variations whenever an accident or a tragedy of this nature takes place anywhere in India.

In Kalkotta, a 150 year old Raj building and a well known land mark Stephan Court in an upscale location on Park Street caught fire. The fire razed for two days in 3 upper floors before it could be brought down. The casualties were heavy-43 were killed. The cause was attributed to short circuit. 45 fire tenders, 8 browsers fought the fire. A fire tender had extending ladder which could reach 70 meters. One person jumped to death, one slipped from ladder and a few were roasted to death watching helplessly fire advancing towards them as they had gone up the stairs in the hope of escaping from terrace but found the exit securely locked. The building was not ordinary, a prominent heritage building built by an Armenian in 1910 and frequented by people as it housed shops and eateries like Flurrys, Peter Cat, Café Coffee Day, One Step up Restaurant.

Now, let us see some of the findings of preliminary reports. In the case of Carlton Tower, the findings were,

 2000 litres of diesel was stored where it should not have been stored.

 Fire tenders could not go round the building. Obviously set back requirement was violated

 Sprinklers could not work because the water was not available and they were dry

 Fire exits were blocked, latched and locked 

 Wiring in the ducts were altered 

 Addition and alterations had been done and partitions etc introduced recklessly blocking the corridor on 3 floors and blocking passage at Ground Floor

 Fire drill had not been conducted 

As is usual in the wake of a tragedy many skeletons revealed and the blame game and passing the buck has started. Opinions from experts about the extent of violation that take place in the city have appeared in almost all news papers; so also advice as to steps to be taken to avoid such incidents in the future. Compensation to victims has been announced. Initially Government arrested some minor functionaries in the administration of Carlton Court. Later two more who managed the association were arrested and released on bail. Strict action against offenders also has been announced.

As for the Stephan court some of the findings are 

 Top two floors were illegally built. The building is in a prominent place and is frequented by people. So how this could happen in broad daylight is a mystery.

 No building plans could be found and fire fighters were hard put to know number of occupants and way through modifications

As per news report Chief Minister of West Bengal has stated that culprits would be severely dealt with. Government of West Bengal has formed high level 11 member probe team chaired by a retired Chief Secretary to look into all aspects of tragedy and fix responsibility for any negligence on the part of State Agencies, Landlord and Tenants.

Another interesting piece of news is the building is managed by a company - Stephan Court Limited (SCL) has 73 shareholders such as well known Duncan Agro. SCL had a profit of Rs 54.29 lakhs in 2008-09. Income from the rent was 79.29 lakhs. What the Government got was measly Rs 8000 a year. The head line also reads Crores for the kitty and zero upkeep. May be an exaggeration but the money spent on upkeep was definitely way below that required.

All this is common occurrence. I have lived in a Multistory blocks in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Exit Doors to roof or with access to outside are always locked because of our problems of theft and dirtying common places; keys are difficult to find, maintenance is penny pinching and carried out by barely skilled. Periodic inspections of equipments and mock drills are rarely held.

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