Contempt for safety

The Rajkot game zone inferno and the Delhi Baby Care Newborn hospital fire have claimed 34 precious lives that could have been easily saved. Continuing to work on expired licence, absence of firefighting equipment like extinguishers, adding more beds than the stipulated number, unqualified doctors and nil emergency exits contributed to the Delhi children hospital fire that killed seven newborns. Hospital employers in many parts of India employ non-MBBS doctors to save money. Indian buildings adhere to the National Building Code of India (NBC), that was updated in 2016. It has unambiguous guidelines for construction, maintenance and fire safety protocols norms. Ministry of Housing and Urban development's ‘Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016’ clearly explains fire safety norms to be adopted by states in formulation of building bylaws. Even the NDMA has mandated open spaces, dedicated staircases and evacuation drills for public buildings.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat

Akola