Deputy commissioner (DC) Vinay Pratap Singh on Tuesday gave city-based coaching centres an ultimatum of 30 days to secure their fire safety certificates, failing which their properties will be sealed.
The fire and rescue services team had recently inspected 236 coaching centers and institutes in the city and found that 87 had initiated the application process for fire safety certification while 81 others were operating without it. The remaining centres were found to be complying with fire safety rules, the DC revealed.
Most of the non-compliant coaching centres are located under the fire stations in Sector 17 and Manimajra, as per municipal corporation officials.
“The centres failing to meet this deadline will face the sealing of their properties and further necessary actions to ensure public safety. Ensuring the safety of students is paramount. We urge all coaching centers to prioritise fire safety measures and comply with regulations. The well-being of our students depends on it,” said Singh, adding that this significant gap between total centres and those running without certificates highlights the urgent need for compliance with fire safety regulations to protect the lives of students and staff.
In response to the tragic incident in Delhi, where three UPSC aspirants drowned in the flooded basement of their IAS coaching centre in July this year, Chandigarh’s estate office had also conducted an inspection of coaching institutes in Sector 34 on July 30. The inspections had revealed that many institutes had set up offices in basements and were using it as a reception area, classroom or reading rooms despite clear regulations prohibiting such usage.
Chandigarh’s building bylaws explicitly prohibit the use of basements for habitable purposes, and state that these should be used solely for storage, parking, air-conditioning plants, and other non-habitable purposes.
