Attention Kochiites! There are cinema halls in your city that are woefully unprepared to tackle a fire accident.
According to top officials with the Fire and Rescue Services Department, a cluster of 11 screening halls has been operating illegally at Centre Square Mall on M.G. Road in the city without the mandatory fire safety clearance. The Ernakulam Division of the Fire and Safety Department has reported the violation to its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, seeking urgent intervention.
“It has come to our attention that these cinema halls have not stopped functioning despite being denied clearance certificates two months ago. The issue has been taken up with the headquarters for their consideration,” said a senior official.
In an directive dated July 18, 2016, the Director Technical of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services refused to grant a certificate of approval to the multiplex. The decision followed a direction from the Kerala High Court for considering an application by Peevees Projects Limited, the project developer, for fire safety approval afresh within six weeks.
It stated that the decision was being taken in the interest of public safety as the building’s construction “is not in obedience to Rule 55(9) of the Kerala Municipal Building Rules (KMBR) 1999”. The building, located on M.G. Road, houses screening halls on its sixth, seventh and eighth floors. Noting that assembly building above 30 metres is not permitted as per the National Building Code and also as per the KMBR, it also held that the functioning of the cinema halls at such a height was a huge threat to the life and safety of the public.
Corporation’s role
The order takes a dig at the Kochi Corporation, which committed gross illegality and issued a permit for the multiplex.
When approached for a response, the mall management refused to confirm the development and said the details would be available with their liaison manager. The official, however, was unavailable for comment despite several attempts.
According to officials, the Fire Department first granted fire safety clearance for a commercial-cum-residential building with a height of 53.30 meters in 2007. The project developer, however, abruptly changed the plan and obtained an approval from the corporation for constructing an assembly category building from its sixth floor.
