Inspite of stringent norms laid down by the government on fire preventive measures to be taken at private marriage halls and community halls maintained by the local bodies, these seem to remain on paper in many cases.
R. Jayaraj, manager of a private marriage hall in Gandhipuram area, told The Hindu that there were about 60 big and small private marriage halls functioning in Coimbatore alone. Of these, many have failed to adhere to the rules and regulation laid down by the department of Tamil Nadu Fire Service and Rescue Services (TNFRS) on safety measures.
Many of the marriage halls, even the community halls built by local bodies, do not have set back spaces around the buildings apparently due to space crunch. Set back space is essential to bring in the fire tenders in case of emergency. Fire accidents due to electrical short circuits can be avoided if appropriate Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs) are installed. An autorickshaw driver from a stand in Kamarajapuram said the community hall meant for economically weaker section is in shambles and did not have fire extinguisher. An abandoned anganwadi building with asbestos sheet was situated near the community hall for many months, he alleged.
Divisional Fire Officer B. Pradipkumar said that TNFRS did not have the statistics on the number of private marriage halls and Corporation maintained community halls in Coimbatore.
However, the department has received a total number of 12 applications for fire licence from private marriage halls and of these six were issued, NOC given for one hall and five were pending for want of inspection.
As far as community halls are concerned, two licences were issued.
Regarding places of worship, he said the department is expecting a government directive following the recent fires that took place in two temples. Joint Commissioner of HR & CE K. Rajamanickam said that they are on the job of conducting fire auditing in all the temples under his control in four districts – Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Erode and Tirupur.
