Fire at under-construction apartment building

The building, close to Hub mall in Goregaon, is being touted as the ‘ultimate residential destination’ in the suburbs with interiors by London-based celebrity interior designer Jade Jagger.

A resident of a nearby building, however, has alleged that the building violated fire and safety norms and the BMC is not taking any action despite several complaints. “The fire officials could not get the engines inside because of the narrow lanes near the building. Though an under-construction site, the building also does not place safety nets. It has become a major problem for people living here. We have complained to the police and the BMC about these violations but there has been no action,” said Bhabhotosh Das, a resident of the nearby Raheja Sherwood building.

Both BMC and fire officials, however, denied the allegations. Assistant commissioner from the P/South ward office (which includes Goregaon), Ramakant Viradar  said, “If there are violations, then the building would have never got a fire NOC (no-objection certificate) from the fire department.”

A senior fire official said, “As it is an under-construction site, the internal fire-fighting equipment is yet to be installed. We also did not face any problems with accessibility because the building is on the main road.” Around 30 floors of the 45-storied tower have been completed till date.

In a separate incident, a fire broke out at a godown in Malad, near Evershine Nagar. No casualties were reported.

tanushree.venkatraman@expressindia.com