HC junks PIL on fire safety measures at SCB hospital

Cuttack: A public interest litigation (PIL) filed nine years back seeking fire safety measures at SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack was on Tuesday disposed of by the Orissa high court, which left it to the authorities to ensure all 76 projects undertaken for installation of fire-fighting mechanism in the hospital are completed as soon as possible.
The petition had sought the court’s intervention stating that the prevailing situation in the 2,600-bed hospital could lead to disaster in the absence of enough fire safety measures.
The PIL was filed by Maitree Sansad, a city-based socio-cultural organisation, and represented in court by advocate Ajay Mohanty.
The two-judge bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho said, “This petition in the nature of PIL was filed in 2015. Various orders have been passed in the case from time to time. We dispose of the petition with the observation that the authorities concerned shall make endeavour that the work of the fire-fighting system at the SCBMCH, which is of immense public importance, is completed within the time stipulated under the contract of the work order.”
The bench in its order said the fire officer (central range), Cuttack, had on July 12 filed an additional affidavit containing the status of work for installation of fire-fighting system in all the buildings in SCBMCH. It stated that work in 34 buildings has started and work in nine others is yet to start.