Numaish, a fire trap sans firefighters

HYDERABAD: The All India Industrial Exhibition, Numaish, which attracts lakhs of visitors every year runs the risk of turning into a blazing inferno as trained firefighters have not been deployed at the venue for the first time in its history. The footfall at the exhibition so far has crossed 3 lakh.
The shocking disregard for safety of its patrons stems from the fact that both the Exhibition Society and AP Fire Services Department (APFSD) are embroiled in a tussle over the society’s non-payment of ‘standby charges’ to the APFSD for the last three years.The outstanding fee is reportedly a staggering Rs 40 lakh.
“The society has failed to pay up the charges despite our reminder. They want a waiver and if the government approves, we will deploy tenders again,” said district fire office Saleem Khan. He added that the charges had not been paid ever since an order was issued in September 2010 (GO MS 253) to hike the fare for distance travelled by vehicles, pumping and standby time.
According to sources, the APFSD deploys two fire tenders each of 1,000 gallons capacity at the exhibition. However, this year, their absence is conspicuous. In their place stands a lone tractor carrying a plastic water tank. Even the rule of thumb, which stresses the presence of around 150 fire hydrants in addition to two tenders at the Numaish premises to tackle flames in case of a high intensity fire, has been ignored. “We had asked the society to submit a layout of the Numaish so that improvements in fire safety could be worked out. But they haven’t responded so far,” said Khan.
Highlighting the seriousness of the situation, firemen noted that if tragedy struck, tenders would have to be requisitioned from Gowliguda fire station, which is around 3 km away. Further, the tenders would have to negotiate their way to the sprawling 23-acre exhibition grounds through a high density traffic zone.
“In case the tenders at Gowliguda are engaged, we would be forced to call vehicles from the AP legislative assembly station. However, tenders cannot move if the assembly is in session,” a source requesting anonymity said. The mini fire tender stationed at the secretariat would be inadequate to douse the flames, the source added.
While Exhibition Society members admitted that there were no trained firefighting personnel at the venue, they were quick to pass the blame onto an ‘uncooperative’ fire department for the fiasco. Members also maintained that the society had adequate staff at their disposal to contain a fire hazard, if one occurred.
“Apart from instructing stall owners to buy fire extinguishers, we have alerted our staff and volunteers of the situation,” said Exhibition Society secretary Ashwin Margam adding, “We were paying Rs 4.5 lakh per annum to the fire department, which is exorbitant. We have written to the chief minister requesting a waiver of standby charges as we cannot afford to pay them.”
Reacting to the lack of safety measures, former bureaucrat Mohammed Shafiquzzaman said that the government should have instructed the society to conform to safety norms before according permission to throw open the gates to the public. “Out of concern for safety of citizens, arrangements at melas in Kumbh and Pushkar were arranged by the government free of charge. However, the discretion lies with the government,” he said.