Fire tragedy: Month-long prevention-enforcement drive in Delhi from Thursday

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Wednesday chaired a high-level emergency review meeting with Minister of Home Ashish Sood in the wake of the tragic fire incident in Malviya Nagar.

During the meeting, a comprehensive multi-departmental action plan to strengthen fire safety mechanisms across Delhi has been formulated under the aegis of the Home Department.
As part of the action plan, a high-intensity month-long enforcement and prevention drive will be launched under the joint leadership of District Magistrates, Deputy Commissioners of Police, and the Deputy Commissioners (MCD) to conduct rigorous fire compliance inspections, audits, and sealing of non-compliant establishments, including hotels, guesthouses, nursing homes, coaching centres, and other vulnerable premises.

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The campaign will be jointly monitored by the Chief Secretary and the Commissioner of Police to ensure zero laxity and strict accountability at every level.
A magisterial inquiry has also been ordered to thoroughly investigate the incident and fix responsibility for the mishap.

Earlier in the day, following the tragedy, Sood conducted an on-site inspection of the affected premises and ordered immediate enforcement action across Delhi against illegally operated and non-compliant guest houses functioning under the Bed & Breakfast scheme.
The minister visited the site along with senior officials of Delhi Fire Services, district administration, police and civic agencies to review rescue operations and assess the circumstances that led to the devastating loss of lives.

Preliminary investigations revealed serious violation of safety and licensing norms, including unauthorized commercial expansion, illegal addition of rooms, obstruction of evacuation routes and misuse of permissions granted under the Bed & Breakfast policy.
The property that was permitted to operate only a limited number of rooms under the scheme was allegedly functioning as a high-density commercial lodging facility in complete violation of prescribed regulations.

The fire, which broke out in the building, claimed 21 lives, including several foreign nationals, while multiple injured persons are currently undergoing treatment at various hospitals.

The Government of Delhi offered deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wished a speedy recovery for all those injured in the incident.