Navi Mumbai News: NMMC Responds Positively To Citizens' Demand For Independent Fire Audit Of Malls Post Phoenix Mall Mishap

Navi Mumbai citizen groups call for an independent fire audit of all malls and multiplexes across Maharashtra following the Phoenix market city mall mishap has been positively responded by NMMC. 

Responding to a mail sent by Nat connect on Saturday , the civic administration has assured to do the needful. " The mail has been directed to the fire officer and we are positive of the audit to take place at the earliest," said the director of Nat connect BN Kumar. 

Earlier an  email was sent to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wherein NatConnect Foundation  pointed out that many of the malls and multiplexes could turn out to be death traps in case of mishaps.

Many of the malls have congested passages thanks to the crowding of shops and displays for festive sales, NatConnect director B N Kumar pointed out.

He called for a complete testing of all combustible material and surprise checks of the SOPs.

“We find that in many places, packaging material such as cartons are stacked in basements,” Kumar said and argued that the drive and out ways are also quite narrow.

Activist Madhu Shankar said the food court and cinema areas in the malls are hazard-prone. Even a small accident can lead to stampedes and injuries and even deaths, she apprehended.

In many popular malls, customers rub each other shoulder-to-shoulder with trollies hitting and hurting the knees. Even the bill payment counters are packed in such a way that one finds it tough has to navigate criss-cross, Kumar explained.

Recounting his experiences at multiplexes, Kumar said the exit routes are so narrow and congested that it takes over 20 minutes to get out of the cinema halls. “One can imagine the plight of the people, god forbid, if a mishap occurs,” he said.

For the sake of transparency and above all safety, the government and the municipal bodies must order third party and independent agencies to conduct the fire audits, much as the third party financial and forensic audits are done by financial institutions and corporates, Kumar added.

Apart from displaying the firefighting compliances, the malls and multiplexes must also provide for reporting lacuna by whistleblowers and alert citizens,  Kharghar-based activist Jyoti Nadkarni said.

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