Deadline to get fire licences - Darjeeling municipality tells business entities to put in place safety measures by May 15

VIVEK CHHETRI

The remains of the shops razed to the ground in the April 20 fire in Darjeeling. Picture by Suman Tamang Darjeeling, May 3: The Darjeeling municipality has set a deadline of May 15 for all business establishments to obtain fire certificates and install extinguishers. The deadline was issued after the fire department warned that the hill town was turning into a “death trap” because of lack of safety measures. The fire department and the civic body woke up to the precarious situation that Darjeeling was sucked into when more than 100 shops were razed to the ground in a blaze on April 20. Amar Singh Rai, the chairman of the Darjeeling municipality, said: “In the light of the report from the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services, we have decided to make it mandatory for all business establishments to obtain a fire certificate and install fire extinguishers by May 15.” The deputy director (north zone) of the fire department had conducted a random survey of Darjeeling for two days after the April 20 blaze. The officer submitted a report to the director general of West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services on April 25. The report stated that unauthorised and unplanned construction in the hill town “without any prescribed fire protection and fire prevention measures” was posing threat to the general public as well as tourists. “It is very disappointing to learn that the means of escape, open spaces, access of roads in respect of height and other factors which are vital aspect of safety has been totally ignored, therefore, the town is gradually becoming a death trap,” the report states. The civic body estimated a loss of Rs 30 crore when the shops located between NB Singh Road and HD Lama Road were destroyed in the April 20 blaze. The municipal chairman said the civic body was exploring legal options for the action to be taken against those who failed to meet the deadline. “We can either slap a fine on the establishments which don’t have fire documents or extinguishers or cancel their trade licenses,” said Rai. D. Lepcha, fire protection and prevention officer (hill areas), said under Sections 11 C and 12 of the West Bengal Fire Services Act, 1950, it was mandatory for even educational institutions to obtain fire licences. “But most of the educational institutions, including the ICSE schools, don’t possess the certificates,” he added. Lepcha said the fire department had gone to the extent of distributing licence forms free of cost a few years back, but the response was “very poor”. He said the business establishments would have to submit site plans/blue prints of their premises and other details of the buildings to obtain the licences. “Based on the site plans, we will make specific recommendations which have to be complied with in three to six months,” said Lepcha. The fire department also wants the Darjeeling municipality to set up fire hydrants and reservoirs in town. “A fire engine can store 2,000 to 4,000 litres of water. Water is sprayed at the rate of 200 litres per minute and it is obvious that a tanker gets empty in less than 10 minutes. There are no hydrants or water sources to fill up the tankers quickly. That is why we say educational institutions and commercial establishments should set up overhead water tanks with a capacity of at least 2,000 litres in their compounds,” said Lepcha. Hotels are also expected to have fire fighting equipment, generators and other amenities in place. The civic chief admitted that the town lacked enough fire hydrants. “We have asked all ward commissioners to identify the areas where the fire hydrants can be set up. Six spots have been marked out in ward 15 to make such provisions. I hope the ward commissioners will submit their recommendations as soon as possible,” said Rai. Darjeeling had more than 100 fire hydrants till the 1960s but the number is 20 at present.(TT)