‘No Coaching Centres, Nursing Homes in Basement’: CM Yogi After Lucknow Fire Incident

After the recent fire tragedy in Lucknow’s Aliganj area, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday termed the incident a “major lesson” for the state and directed officials to launch a comprehensive fire safety audit drive across Uttar Pradesh in mission mode. He also instructed that no coaching centers or nursing homes should run from the basement of any building in the state. Chairing a high-level review meeting with senior officials on Tuesday, the Chief Minister stressed that preventing the recurrence of such incidents must be a collective responsibility of the government, administration and citizens. He ordered district administrations to conduct fire safety audits of hospitals, nursing homes, medical colleges, coaching institutes, shopping malls, government buildings and other commercial establishments. Form Special Teams in Every District To Inspect Fire Safety Protocols: CM Yogi CM Yogi Adityanath directed to constitute special teams in every district of UP to carry out the audit exercises. He instructed officials to ensure registration of all coaching institutes and mandated that fire department No Objection Certificates (NOCs) be prominently displayed in commercial buildings. Emphasising that the campaign should be citizen-friendly, the CM said that first awareness campaigns should be conducted before proceeding for any kind of enforcement action and cautioned officials against harassing people in the name of inspections. The CM also reiterated that buildings must only be used for the purpose for which they were approved. He specifically prohibited the operation of coaching centres, nursing homes or any other commercial activities in basements, stating that basements approved for parking must be used exclusively for parking. He further directed authorities to assess the electrical load of commercial buildings and initiate strict action wherever safety norms or approved load limits are found to be violated. During the meeting, the CM reviewed the rescue and relief operations undertaken after the Aliganj fire incident. Senior officials from the Home Department, Uttar Pradesh Police, Fire Services, Health Department and SDRF briefed him on the response measures taken after the incident. CM Yogi Calls For Improving Response Time To Distress Calls Highlighting the importance of quick emergency response, CM Yogi Adityanath said reducing response time is critical to saving lives and ensuring effective rescue operations. He instructed all agencies to take concrete steps to further improve response times and maximise the use of available resources. The officials present in the meeting with the CM informed him that around 14 ambulances were rushed to the site immediately after the fire incident. CM subsequently directed that fire safety audits of all medical colleges, government and private hospitals, and other healthcare facilities be conducted on priority. Around 15 people lost their lives in the tragic incident in Aliganj area of Lucknow after a building was completely engulfed in flames on Monday. The CM on Monday evening assured that strict action will be taken in this case after which four officials were suspended for their laxity and four accused linked to this case were immediately arrested and sent to 14 days of judicial custody on Tuesday. Visit Times Now for the Latest news, India News, and breaking stories from around the World. Read more