Heed warning from Delhi museum fire
On Wednesday morning, when the nation woke up to the devastating story of how a massive fire had gutted the National Museum of Natural History in New Delhi, it must have also collectively, even if quietly, heaved a sigh of relief. The fire broke out in the wee hours of the night when thankfully not a single individual was in the museum and, hence, no one was injured and no lives were lost. One can only imagine the horror had this fire spread during the day time. There would have been a huge public uproar and the authorities would be under pressure to demonstrate that some effort was being undertaken to fix responsibility. Sure, the large-scale loss of centuries-old fossils and replicas of extinct birds and animals has shocked the public and made headlines around the nation. But what happens after this news story moves out of page oneIJ This is where the public at large and civil society in particular must step up and play their parts to hold the Government accountable.
There are two aspects here: First, safety of public buildings, and second, preservation of natural heritage. In the first case, it is galling that in today's day and age when even households have fire extinguishers, according to Delhi Fire Services, the NMNH did not have a functional fire safety system in place. As expected, the museum management has denied these allegations, and so has Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, which was renting out its premises to the museum — and with that, the blame game has begun. Now, while we must wait for further investigations to bring out the whole truth it is yet to be ascertained what started the fire in the first place although sabotage has been ruled out for now it is difficult to imagine how such a massive fire could have just happened of its own accord. In all probability, it was a multi-agency failure: While the museum authorities seemingly failed to maintain the building, the Delhi Government agencies responsible enforcing building codes and monitoring fire safety were evidently not doing their job either. Also, the Union Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which is the nodal agency for the museum, needs to take responsibility. Its decision to conduct energy and fire audits at all the 30 plus museums under its control, is a step in the right direction but needs to be followed-up with concrete action.
On the second issue of preservation of natural heritage, it is a fact that while we take much pride in our civilisational wealth and riches, we simply do not do enough to protect and conserve our treasure troves. One telling example in this regard is the manner in which the fire at the Zoology Department of Kolkata's Ballygunge Science College last month was largely ignored. That accident also destroyed or damaged several precious zoological finds including some that were the last specimens on the planet. Worse still, precious little effort has been put in to save and restore whatever little had escaped the fire. A month after the incident, the specimens are reportedly still sitting in dirty containers, exposed to heat, dust and humidity. In Delhi, once the fire-related investigation is over, it is these issues that will need urgent attention.