The Sadar Bazar blaze shows that we will continue to feed off a corrupt system at the cost of lives
Illegal sweatshops in the city must be shut down and their owners booked for criminal intent over non-compliance of basic safety parameters. As Sadar Bazar’s inferno showed, avaricious owners locked up labourers from the outside, either to conceal the nature of operations inside from inspectors or to prevent migrant labourers from fleeing. So when the fire broke out, more than 40 people just choked to death. With sound clips of dying victims going viral, asking their near and dear ones to look after themselves as they wouldn’t make it, the weekend became the most heart-rending human story of exploitation, greed and indifference. No fire escapes, no certifications, no safety drills, no ventilation, the five-storey building that housed small units was a veritable death chamber. The blaze quickly spread through inflammatory materials, sucking out oxygen and building dangerous spirals of carbon monoxide that spread to the upper floors. One of the worst industrial disasters in Delhi’s history, it shows how we refuse to learn lessons or assume we are unaffected. The carelessness was completely avoidable. Only one of the two exit gates was functional. Neither was there an integrated alarm system, nor any water sprinklers. The factory did not even have a safety clearance or no-objection certificate. Sheer negligence on the part of the municipal authorities, with whose knowledge such unsafe structures have flourished, will forever be a stain on our conscience. The only solace was that emergency services were pressed into action with admirable speed and the firemen acted with astonishing bravery. Despite low visibility and the toxic gas, two officials rescued around three dozen men, refilling their breathing apparatus every 20 minutes. The conspiracy between the municipal corporation and unit owners became clearer with yet another fire incident being reported in the same building the very next day. Intriguing reports have emerged about how MCD officials intended to slap a showcause notice to the building owner for operating illegally within a residential complex and ignoring fire safety. Why then did it not take swift action? While the certification process is still a hotbed of corruption, with officials sanctioning unsafe buildings as clean in return for money, the MCD is also guilty of ignoring regular inspections. An MCD official has himself admitted how 10,000 such units are flourishing despite the official figure being just 2,800. Once factory owners obtain the licence, they grease more palms to change the sanctioned layout.
The National Building Code provides for detailed directions on how fire tragedies must be tackled but most States have their own safety rules, Delhi being one among them. Then there is the larger issue of negotiating labour laws. The Anaj Mandi factory was home to hundreds of underage migrant workers, all paid a paltry Rs 500 per month. The factory was their only shelter where they used to cook, work and sleep under the same shed. The courts must prescribe the stiffest penalty for such fraudulent business before we look at the next tragedy.