GHMC yet to figure out legal status of fire accident structure in Jiyaguda
Authorities of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are yet to figure out the ownership details of the building in Jiyaguda where two persons were killed in a fire accident in the early hours of Wednesday.
A 10-year-old girl and her father died after receiving severe burn injuries in the fire mishap, while other members of the family are fighting for life in the Osmania General Hospital.
Town Planning officials of the Khairatabad Zone who visited the site in the evening said that it was a ground-plus-three-floor structure, most probably built without permission.
“As per the details available, there was a sofa/mattress manufacturing unit in the ground floor, and the penthouse too was used as workshop. Families were staying in the remaining three floors,” said M. Ranjeet Kumar, City Planner, Khairatabad.
The building is said to be 15-years-old, and the Town Planning authorities are making efforts to dig out the building permission and ownership details of the structure. However, considering the narrow lane where the road width is hardly 10 feet, obtaining building permission for a four-floor structure could not have been possible, which makes it an illegal structure.
In fact, there was no space for a fire engine to enter the lane, and the fire personnel had to halt the vehicle and go on foot for fire-fighting and rescue work.
Apart from the fact that commercial/industrial establishments are prohibited in the residential area, doubts are being cast upon the trade licence status of the establishment too. “We have asked the departments concerned for details about the trade licence,” Mr. Ranjeet Kumar said.
The building will be checked for structural stability after reports come, and action will be taken accordingly, he said.
Unauthorised constructions and illegally functioning commercial establishments and warehouses have been major causes of fire mishaps within the GHMC limits for the past few years.
The Enforcement, Vigilance & Disaster Management wing of the GHMC had worked to identify potentially dangerous establishments illegally functioning from the basements of buildings, and served notices to them.
In May last year, about 1,000 notices were served to the ‘Red Category’ establishments, asking them to vacate the premises. All the warehouses which used to store inflammable material have been grouped under the ‘Red Category’ establishments, against which action would be initiated after the Assembly polls, officials informed then.
However, eight months after the polls, there is no check on the warehouses and manufacturing units functioning from residential premises.
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