1 hr ago
Fire Department Orders Partial Evacuation of Banerjee Office Building
Fire officials inspected a tall building in Kolkata that contains Abhishek Banerjee’s office.
They said the basement had no fire-safety equipment.
They also found weak firefighting arrangements on the seventh floor.
The building did not have a proper fire exit there, and its fire alarm system had problems.
The building’s safety certificate had expired on August 10.
Officials gave the owner 48 hours to respond to their concerns.
They said no response arrived, so they ordered three areas to be emptied.
Those areas can be used again only after the problems are fixed and a new certificate is obtained.
West Bengal’s Fire Department ordered the basement and sixth and seventh floors of a central Kolkata high-rise to be vacated.
The building houses the office of Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee.
Officials said no fire-safety measures were found in the basement and identified problems on the seventh floor.
The premises’ fire-safety certificate expired on August 10 and had not been renewed.
The order followed an unanswered show-cause notice and a 48-hour deadline given to the building owner.
- Who
- The West Bengal Fire Department, the building owner, and the office of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee.
- What
- Officials ordered the basement, sixth floor, and seventh floor of the building to be vacated over fire-safety deficiencies.
- Where
- A high-rise building on Camac Street in central Kolkata.
- When
- The order was issued on Friday, September 5, after an inspection on Monday; the safety certificate had expired on August 10.
- Why
- Officials cited missing or inadequate fire-safety measures, an absent designated fire exit, fire-alarm problems, and the lack of a renewed safety certificate.
TMC’s account
BJP’s response
Ransacking of Banerjee’s office
TMC’s account
The Trinamool Congress blamed BJP-linked men for ransacking the Camac Street office.
BJP’s response
The Bharatiya Janata Party denied the allegation.
Key facts
- Affected areas
- Basement, sixth floor, and seventh floor
- Inspection
- A joint police and fire-officials team conducted a floor-by-floor inspection on Monday.
- Basement finding
- Officials said no fire-safety measures were found in the basement.
- Seventh-floor findings
- Inadequate firefighting measures, no designated fire exit, and problems with the fire alarm system.
- Certificate status
- The premises’ fire-safety certificate expired on August 10 and had not been renewed.
- Deadline
- The building owner was given 48 hours to respond to a show-cause notice.
- Reuse condition
- The affected floors cannot be used until deficiencies are fixed and a valid fire-safety certificate is obtained.
Quotes
West Bengal Fire Department official
An unidentified official of the West Bengal Fire Department who described the inspection and notices.
“Since we did not get any response and the deadline passed, we sent them a notice to evacuate the basement, sixth and seventh floors of the building. If the basement of any building has no fire safety measures, it could lead to a big disaster in case of a fire.”
theprint.in
“No fire safety measures were traced in the basement of the high-rise. Following that, we served a show-cause notice to the owner of the building and gave them a 48-hour deadline.”
theprint.in
NDTV
Sources
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