The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not learnt any lessons from the massive fire at Mantralaya last year. Even after over a year since the fire, which destroyed several important documents, the civic body has not been able to install full-fledged fire fighting system at its 22 ward offices barring the municipal headquarters and a couple of ward offices. The reason being that the BMC, which boasts of an annual budget worth `27,500 crore, does not have sufficient funds for this.
In the backdrop of the fire in Mantralaya in June 2012, the Mumbai Fire Brigade had instructed the civic body to install well-equipped fire fighting system in all the municipal ward offices as a precautionary measure.
However, the civic mechanical and electrical department has managed to set up only basic equipment like fire extinguishers at the ward offices. They still lack the necessary fire equipment to deal with a major fire like the one that took place last year.
According to the civic officials, the fire fighting system primarily includes fire detector, fire alarm and fire extinguisher, and it needs `1.5 crore to install the equipment in each of the ward offices. Setting up this system in all the ward offices would require funds in crores. However, no budgetary provision has been made for the installation of fire-fighting system in all municipal offices, so far.
“We are hoping that sufficient provision would be made in the 2014-15 budget so that the fire fighting system would be set up in all the ward offices,” said G.S. Sharif, deputy chief engineer (mechanical and electrical).
Till date, only the BMC headquarters at CST and K-East (Andheri east) and P-South (Goregaon) ward offices have the full-fledged fire fighting system. Apart from them, the other ward offices lack the necessary equipment for fire protection, making them vulnerable to big fires.
The civic officials said, installation of fire fighting system at N (Ghatkopar) ward office is underway and would become operational soon.
According to civic figures, every day an average of 13 fires take place in Mumbai. An average of 400 fire incidents occur every month in the city. And every year, there is a frightening figure of over 4,500 fires, which takes place in this metropolis.