Hyderabad: Govt plans to relocate hazardous establishments to city outskirts

Hyderabad: Home Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali, on Wednesday, said, at present there is a proposal for shifting the hazardous commercial establishments existing among or nearby the residential houses/areas to outskirts or to a safe area for the safety of the general public and it will be worked upon at the earliest by the government. The minister made these statements at a high- level meeting held with multiple stakeholders of the government in the wake of a fire accident that killed 11 migrant workers from Bihar. The incident occurred in a scrap godown at Bhoiguda in the wee hours on Wednesday.

The high-level meeting was held with the Principal Secretary to Government, Home Department Ravi Gupta, Director General of Police, Mahender Reddy, Commissioner of GHMC Lokesh Kumar, DG Fire Services, Sanjay Kumar Jain, Commissioners of Police and other officers.

The minister expressed his profound grief at the loss of precious lives in the extremely distressed incident of fire. The minister instructed the officers to ensure that the bodies of the deceased reach their families with dignity and also stressed on the fact that the ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh should reach the family as was announced by the Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Mahmood Ali said that the issue of fire hazard vulnerabilities and all required possible fire safety and implementable measures in such times has been discussed at length. There is a long-term plan being chalked out to contain the incidents of fire, but it was decided to enforce some implementable immediate measures to contain or minimize the incidents of fire and save precious lives.

The Home Minister also instructed the officers to ensure that owners of such commercial establishments/godowns should not allow their workers to sleep in the premises and the owners should provide their workers with a separate and safe place for sleeping away from the said commercial establishment/godown for their safety. The workers of such establishments must not be permitted to cook or indulge in smoking etc., in the premises and in case they fail to do so, stern action would be taken as per law and penalties will be imposed on them.

Also the GHMC commissioner was instructed to conduct field visits and check for the godowns or establishments that are functioning without fire NOC and in an unhygienic atmosphere. Any such establishments should be fined immediately, said the Home Minister.