Sunday’s fire at a cultural event organised at the Girgaum Chowpatty in south Mumbai by the Maharashtra Government had no bearing on the the third day proceedings at the “Make-In-India” Week being held at the MMRDA grounds at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) here on Monday, even as the Mumbai fire brigade began a probe into all aspects relating to the incident, including sabotage angle.
Though the mishap did have have minor psychological impact on the organisers, the programmes and events scheduled at the “Make In India” Week venue for the day three went on as per schedule.
“As many as 25,000 people have been registered and all the sessions are full and are being over-subscribed. We have around 1,200 to 1,300 foreign companies participating from Brazil, Korea, UK, Japan, Spain and others. From tomorrow, the event shifts to become youth centric with hackathons and events on start-ups,” Amitabh Kant, Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), said.
Kant also said that the event was a platform for Ministers to meet investors and businessmen, listen to them and address any issues that they might have. “Never before in India have we seen so many states come together for an event. Twelve Chief Ministers are expected to be at the event and understand investor pulse,” he said
Not wanting to take any chances – especially in the backdrop of Sunday’s fire at the Girgaum Chowpatty in south Mumbai, the organisers reviewed the fire safety measures and fire proofing systems at the MMRDA grounds in north-central Mumbai.
“The main venue of the Make In India Centre at the MMRDA Grounds at Bandra Kurla Complex is safe. Security and fire safety measures have been reviewed.
The disaster management team has deployed over 500 fire extinguishers and 60 fire marshals at the venue. “If an unforeseen event occurs, evacuation can be done without any casualty,” Atul Chaturvedi, the Joint Secretary of DIPP, said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis, whose Government is hosting the “Make In India” week, had tweeted last night that Make In India events at the main venue would go on as planned.
Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman and Dharmendra Pradhan were present at the venue attending various sectoral seminars being held at the Make In India Centre. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited the Make In India Expo and the DRDO Pavilion in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai fire brigade personnel began a comprehensive inquiry into Sunday’s fire at the Girgaum Chowpatty in south Mumbai, where a massive fire had broken on the stage of a cultural programme “Maharashtra Rajani” when Marathi actress Puja Sawant was performing a lavani dance. However, no one was injured in the incident.
Three theories have emerged as to what might have led to the fire at the Girgaum Chowpatty. They are: short-circuit in the electrical systems and equipment connecting the sound and light, improper storing and handling of cylinders used for pyrotechnics and a suspected sabotage.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was present at the mishap till late on Sunday reviewing the fire-extinguishing and evacuation operations, held a detailed meeting both Mumbai Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and Chief Fire Officer PS Rahangdale.
“We are going into all aspects of the fire,” Rahangdale said, as his department
In a related development, noted Bollywood set designer Nitin Desai, who had designed the stage at the Girgaum Chowpatty cultural event and Messrs Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt ltd, the event manager – claimed that they were not at fault.
“There were no problems, issues with set design, set construction. This is for the first time such a thing has happened in my career,” said Desai, who has in the past designed sets for Bollywood movies like lagaan, Jodhaa Akbar, Devdas, Mission Kashmir and lage Raho Munnabhai.
The stage erected for the Girgaum chowpatty event was around 160 ft x 120 ft. “The detailed planning, both with regard to smooth execution of the event and disaster management in case of an unfortunate incident, ensured that there were no casualties and no injuries. Prior to the event all safety checks and audits were done during rehearsals and prior to the show. All fire and safety norms prescribed have been followed,” Wizcraft said in a statement.
There were in all 50 to 60 artistes on stage, while there were 300-odd artists in the nearby green rooms when the fire broke out on the stage when “Maharashtra lokdhara” (folk dances of Maharashtra) event was underway.