Disaster management failure

The fire broke out in the Mantralay, which houses the offices of the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, several ministers and senior bureaucrats, and burnt fourth, fifth and sixth floor of the seven –storied building. The death toll in the fire has also reportedly reached to 5. The scene of the blaze of fire that engulfed the Mantralay looked as if there were no one to look after the building. Neither was any preventive measure in place nor any prompt action to control the fire was noticeable. The fire may be accidental and there may not be any possibility of sabotage but the way disaster management team acted and the inordinate delay in reaching of fire brigade trucks with water to douse the devastating fire has exposed the ill preparedness of the government to deal with these types of accidents. Fire brigade station is reportedly in Colaba and the Mantralay is a Nariman Point. To cover the distance from Fire Brigade station to Mantralay, the Fire Brigade Trucks took 45 minutes. By the time fire brigade reached, the damage was done and people inside the Mantralay scamper for security. Though the Chief Minister has ordered an enquiry into the fire, what about the important files of Urban Development ministry related to Adarsh scam which were gutted in the fire. In view of a number of cases related to land scam in Maharashtra, this fire might be an act of saboteurs. So, there must the thorough probe to know how the fire broke out in Mantralay and how a well-organised disaster management team could be put in place so that this type of accidental fire government buildings could be controlled without any damage to life, property and important files. After the terror attack on Mumbai in 2008, the security of the city was briefed up from all angles. But the reaction from the government machineries concerned to deal with the fire is anything to go by; it is the total failure of government. Mumbai is not only the capital of the state of Maharashtra but also the financial capital of India. So, it must be given utmost importance so far as the safety and security of the city is concerned. The fire in Mantralay has exposed the ill preparedness of the Maharashtra government to deal with the disastrous situation and the callous negligence of the disaster management team entrusted to take care of the building. Now, it can be guessed how safe is the common man and slum dwellers from any calamity.