At Hauz Khas, safety norms go up in smoke

NEW DELHI: Khan Market may be a tinderbox, but the other popular food hub in the capital, Hauz Khas Village in south Delhi, is no safer. While the narrow alleys and twisted lanes create a unique rural ambience cherished by art lovers, fashion enthusiasts and revellers, they also turn this urban village into a fire trap.
According to Delhi Fire Services officials, only two eateries of the 72 there have fire clearance.The others have taken advantage of loopholes in the National Buildings Code and fire safety guidelines. Explaining the problems that firemen face here, GC Mishra, director, Delhi Fire service said, “The access lanes are so narrow that fire trucks can’t drive in or turn around. Even the entrances to the buildings are less wider than required under law.”
The problem lies in the fact that the National Building Code does not mandate fire clearance for restaurants with a capacity of less than 50. Many cash in on this provision. As Mishra pointed out, “The licensing authority forwards cases to us of eateries with 48-49 seats. How can I say if this is mischievous?”
Short of space, many outlets function from basements and store gas cylinder, dangerously, on the roofs. Also instead of separate fire exits, space constraints have forced many establishments to keep only one narrow point to serve as both entry and exit. While most owners declined to comment, one did, on condition of anonymity, and argued, “Within the space constraint, we are doing as much as we can. We do have fire extinguishers around.”
Not that too many people are deterred by the risk of fire. Ankur Pandey, a 20-year-old college student who frequents Hauz Khas, stated that the “young crowd that comes here to party hardly cares for fire safety’. Pallav Jain, another youngster, added, “Frankly, I don’t think youngsters even care about the regulations.”
Shailender Singh, chairman of the standing committee of South Delhi Municipal Corporation, thought a possible solution was to make the guidelines mandatory for all restaurants irrespective of seating capacity. For a long-term perspective, Singh suggested: “Instead of considering each outlet, the Delhi Fire Service should take the market as a whole for fire fighting.” He added that the civic body had proposed that in collaboration with RWAs and fire department, SDMC would make 4-5 big interconnected underground water tanks in crowded market areas with narrow lanes. “But we are yet to receive a response to this,” said Singh.
In August, a fire at Hauz Khas Village saw a 35-year-old man dying and his friend, a Frenchwoman, suffering burns after a blaze broke out at a building there. Dilip Kumar, a security guard there, recalled how the fire trucks that day had been unable to reach the fire due to the narrowness of the lanes. “The firemen had to come on foot as their vehicles could not move,” Kumar said. “It was a small fire. If some day, there’s a bigger inferno, the whole place will be gutted, sab bhagwan bharose hai.”