In Lutyens' Delhi, Parliament House Annexe among other buildings have 'shortcomings' in fire safety inspections

New Delhi [India], Dec 8 (ANI): Forget about the narrow structures in high-density areas like Shahdara and Seelampur in East Delhi. Even the buildings like the Parliament House Annexe, Vayu Bhawan, Sena Bhawan and offices of various Central ministries in Lutyens' Delhi are ranked very low in terms of fire safety.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS), in the course of inspections, has found that these high-security buildings have various shortcomings and during fire incidents, these might lead to heavy loss of lives and property.
According to the list of DFS, there are more than 100 such buildings in Lutyens' Delhi alone.
DFS chief Atul Garg said that these buildings do not require any 'No Objection Certificate' (NoC) as these are quite old.
"As per the inspections, we have found shortcomings and have suggested a few changes, which should be done," Garg told ANI.
According to former DFS Chief RC Sharma, who served for 22 years at the agency, these buildings cannot fulfill the modern-day requirements as these were built many years ago.
"These buildings are old and have been built long back. They may not have the required facility, which has been introduced like compartmentation and putting a door on a staircase. It may not be possible to install doors at the staircase. That is why these buildings feature in the list of structures with shortcomings," said Sharma.
According to a letter accessed by ANI, sent to the Parliament House Annexe after an inspection last year, the DFS noticed multiple shortcomings.
"Hose reel on the ground near BJP room number 5B is not functional. Main pumps and a diesel pump are not on auto mode; branch pipes are missing in hose boxes and in some boxes, only one hose is kept instead of two. The main control room fire alarm and detection panel is not functioning properly and all exit and gates must be kept clear," DFS had said.
DFS had also requested that all the fire-fighting systems installed in Parliament House must be kept in working condition during the sessions. (ANI)