New Delhi, November 25
The recent fire incident at Himalaya House on Kasturba Gandhi Marg has exposed a lack of preparedness of the national Capital against such mishaps even as the city fathers are planning to adopt the concept of high-rise living.

With only five hydraulic lifts and around 250 water carriers in service for the population of over 1.5 crore and 5,000 high-rise buildings, a lot remains to be done for developing the city vertically.

The fire officials say that lessons are yet to be learnt from the tragic incidents like Uphaar Cinema fire that took place 15 years ago, which was one of the worst tragedies as 59 people had died, mostly due to suffocation and 103 were seriously injured in the resulting stampede.

"Fire safety measures do not only mean installing high-tech equipment all over the building. They also demand to be maintained regularly. The Himachal House building also had the firefighting system, but that did not work. Then what is the purpose of it," said a senior fire official.

Structures of 15 meters or above, called high-rises, have mushroomed in the city in the past two decades and are accommodating several commercial establishments, which are either without any firefighting measures or have not renewed their safety certificates for many years.

The official said that at times, the fire extinguishers seen hung on the walls of the buildings have expired. "The caretakers of the premises do not bother to check the validity of the equipment. This problem arises as people do not want to pay for the maintenance of the building," he said.

According to the data maintained by the fire department, the Central division alone, which includes commercial hubs like Connaught Place and Daryaganj, over 25 buildings are running without firefighting systems out of the total 128 in the category of business structures. Maximum buildings in this area are old high-rises as they were built before 1990. In the category of hazardous buildings falling in Central division, which includes structures like power plants, fire workshops, petrol pumps, CNG stations, LPG godowns, etc, 10 buildings are yet to get safety certificates. Also, there are more than 200 schools in the East division whose certificates are not renewed after 2007.

"It is also very important for people to know some precautions that can be taken to control the spread of fire. We conduct workshops from time to time to create awareness on such things like how to use a fire extinguisher. This knowledge is very helpful in minor fires," said the official.

As per the rules and guidelines laid by Delhi Fire Services Act, 2007, it is mandatory for all the commercial establishments to apply for renewal of their non-objection certificates from the fire department after every three years and five years in case of residential structures.

"Though the Act was formed in 2007, the rules and regulations of the Act were completed in 2010 and thus we started the implementation only last year," said a fire official of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS).

As per an estimate by the officials, over 3,000 high-rises buildings have come up between 1986 and 2009 in the city. According to DFS Act, the buildings are supposed to have in place 20 minimum safety standards to deal with fire mishaps. "These 20 steps which are mandatory for the builders include a water tank with proper access, hose-wheel, fire detection system, fire alarm, stand-by generators, etc," said the official.

"According to a survey done by our department, we identified 220 unsafe buildings which were built long back and found to be without the safety measures. These included important buildings like Gopal Das, Nirmal Tower, Vikas Minar, Himalaya House. We decided to take up these buildings case-wise as our work increased tremendously after the implementation of the Act last year. We have already completely inspection of over 4,000 schools and 12 big government hospitals," said the official.

As per the rules of the DFS Act, 90 days' period is given to the defaulters to correct the shortcomings and put in place proper firefighting equipment. The builder can also be imposed penalty ranging between Rs 10 and Rs 50 per square feet, depending on the particular case.

Cinema halls with a sitting capacity of more than 100 viewers, hotels with more than 100 rooms, underground markets, hospitals with 500 beds, buildings of 15 meters are some of the establishments to be run only with the mandatory clearance from the fire department.

It was in 1983 that the national Capital first saw inclusion of fire norms in the building by-laws framed by the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which were later amended to Delhi Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Act, 1986, on the orders of the Lieutenant-Governor after 39 foreigners died in a major fire in the Siddhartha Hotel in Vasant Vihar, which is now known as Vasant Continental.

New Delhi, November 25
Adding new dimensions to the ongoing India International Trade Fair in the capital, the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) is now offering an exclusive "launching pad" for a promotional backup to the Indian business community.

The fair will feature the launching pad at hall number 8. The space will primarily feature products and innovations aimed at consumer convenience, so that the launch receives a first hand response from its target audience at the fair.

The launching pad was officially opened today with the launch of Ambrane brand 7-inch android-based mini laptops priced at economical Rs 6,000. Ambrane, the first company at the fair to use this facility, also launched Calling King Tablets and a smart TV stick today.

At the first product launch today, a senior ITPO official said, "The launch has been envisioned with an aim to provide a suitable platform for not just established names, but even small-scale industries at the fair. The response and the feedback will be tremendously helpful for the parent company with thousands of visitors throng the product space. It is a direct advertising space and a great forum to make a noticeable entry into the market."

Ahmad Khan, spokesperson for Ambrane, said, "The smart TV stick priced at Rs 5,000 will enable the user to transform his LCD /LED TV into a smart TV where instant internet access will be permissible. Furthermore, the tablet priced at Rs 7,000 is a smart option for the consumers, with several overtly expensive tablets in the market today."

"The trade fair was a suitable launch pad for us since we believed that the best way to launch this consumer friendly range was in presence of common users. The fair gives us an opportunity of a direct contact with our consumers and that too, on such a large scale. We are looking forward to numerous queries and feedbacks," he added.

Next in line at the launching pad is an ideal substitute for plastic bags, referred to as eco-grade photo degradable bags manufactured by MP Green Solutions.

New Delhi, November 25
Education is necessary for building self-confidence and development of the personality. This was stated by vice-chairperson of the Haryana Child Welfare Council Asha Hooda at a function here today. During distributing scholarships to the girls of backward sections of the society, she said that a large number of children work as child labour. Due to poverty, the parents also want their children to earn. This mentality needs to be changed and the society should come forward to adopt such families to help them.

People are more self-concerned now. "Our values today are not the same, as they were earlier. We should inculcate the high values in our children," she said. She also urged the girls, who received scholarships, to work hard in studies and inspire others also for the same.

The function was organised by an NGO, Nutan Prayatn, which has started a scheme of giving scholarships to the girls of weaker sections of the society and to encourage them for higher studies. The scheme has been started in the name of freedom fighter Chaudhary Ranbir Singh Hooda. Today 10 children were given scholarships. The amount of scholarship is Rs 10,000 each and is given to the students of Classes VIII, IX and X for their further studies.

Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Shanta Sinha, who was also present on the occasion, said that a number of children between the age group of 14 and 18 years are working as child labour. They should also get equal opportunities of education.