22 in all Innocent Surat’s commercial complex where a coaching class was running on the fourth floor of an illegally developed building was engulfed in flames as students tried to jump down from windows in panic to save themselves.
Videos of delhi fire In the incident, students are shown hanging from wires while trying to get down from the fire in the building. The scene was exactly the same as in the Takshashila fire, where children were hanging from the windows and many of them jumped down to their deaths in terror.
“We often see incidents in India where children die in fire incidents in coaching classes or hospitals. We are not learning any lesson from our past tragedies. Dilip Meet Takshashila victim’s father Sanghani.
The parents of Takshashila victims blame the government for not immediately punishing the persons responsible. “Those responsible for the Takshashila fire tragedy are yet to be punished. Sanghani said that it is now the responsibility of the people to follow the rules and check the fire fighting infrastructure in the classrooms and buildings where their children go to study.
A total of 14 accused, including officials of the Surat Fire and Emergency Services (SFES), Surat Municipal Corporation and Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited, the developers of the building, have been arrested in the Takshashila Arcade fire case.
So far the statements of 90 witnesses have been recorded in the court. Now the statements of the parents have started being recorded in the court. Speedy trial and conviction can send a strong message to the society. However, this is not happening in the Taxila case. The death of my daughter in this tragedy and seeing those who were responsible for the incident still walking free leaves us disappointed,” said Jaysukh Gajera, father of the victim, Grishma.
“It is the negligence of the governments, in whatever state such incidents take place. There are clear guidelines for fire prevention for education and health establishments but no agency enforces it,” said Dinesh Kevadia, father of victim Yashvi.
Meanwhile, SFES officials claim that no rules have been issued by the government related to coaching class registration and most of them have not approached SFES for No Objection Certificate.
NOC is issued by SFES after inspection of fire infrastructure. “The coaching classes do not require registration from the government so they do not even take NOC for fire prevention. We do random checking but it is difficult to cover the entire city,” said Basant Pareek, chief fire officer.