No ticket hike without fire safety, Hyderabad theatres told

HYDERABAD: With a slew of big budget movies slated for release, fans and film enthusiasts are lining up by the hundreds to watch them. But the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has tagged approximately 170 single-screen theatres as potential fire hazards and has refused to raise ticket prices.
The National Building Code (NBC) categorizes these buildings under Group D as places of mass assembly, where the amount of people at any given time is close to 300.But according to officials, 70 per cent of these cinemas do not have sufficient fire safety measures in place and could soon face a ban.
For example, the lack of a water sump, both overhead and under-head, multiple exit ways and proper demarcation of exit routes are just a few of the fire safety techniques that these theatres lack. A senior official from the state Fire Response and Disaster Management Service reiterated this point, saying that "the firefighting techniques that are mandated for theatres include barrier-free exit ways, functioning water sumps, hydrants, hose-reels and fire extinguishers, all of which are missing in the theatres. Even if they do possess an extinguisher, it is meant to be subject to inspection at regular intervals. But this is not the case."
Officials also say that the license for a theatre is renewed either once in three years or five years. "It is only during these renewals that the owners come to us for an inspection. In the past when we conducted surprise inspections, we found that there were many theatres that lacked even a water supply to the water tanks," said Venkata Ramana, additional director, Fire Prevention wing, GHMC.
When asked about the future steps, Ramana said that the fire safety wing is severely understaffed with only eight people to 'fire-proof' the entire city. "For better services we need to have seizure powers, as is extended during the property tax drives. We will file a case in the court and wait for the legal proceedings to begin."

It's time that the GHMC puts its foot down and takes strong action against such theatres as they are putting hundreds of lives at stake without adhering to safety norms. Licences should be cancelled unless they take steps to put fire safety equipment in place.