The fire that killed nine people in Andheri’s Juhu Galli has again exposed the vulnerability of city’s slums to fire. Fire officials rue the fact that the congested and narrow lanes in the area prevented effective deployment of fire engines, which could have brought the fire under control much earlier.
Chief fire officer P.S. Rahangdale told The Hindu , “By 6.19 a.m., our fire fighting team and equipment were mobilised, but they had to struggle till 6.37 a.m. to reach the site of fire. Our lead fire engine had to literally bulldoze through the narrow lanes, causing damage to the fire tenders as well as private vehicles that blocked their the way right up to the site. Those initial minutes were crucial and the driver did the right thing by storming into the lane to fight the fire.”
A fresh aspect that has emerged, according to a well-placed official, is the rampant misuse of power supply lines across the slum. Most homes have a legally metered power supply, along with a surreptitiously running a network of illegal power lines.
Boosting capacity
The fire brigade said that by December, it will have an additional 20 mini fire engines with a capacity to carry 500 plus litres of water and fire-fighting equipment.
Mr. Rahangdale said the standing committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was scheduled to take up discussion on the induction of 19 kilo litre (kl) and 16 kilo litre fire engines in its Thursday’s meeting, which was adjourned due to the fire at Andheri. “Our emphasis is on the first line of attack. The 19 kl and 16 kl fire tankers, which use the MIST technology, have the capability to reach fire sites which are difficult to reach,” Mr. Rahangdale.
A senior BMC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Till there is a political will, there cannot be a solution to the massive collateral damage in slums. While 14 feet is the authorised construction height in slums, look at the Behrampada slum in Bandra (East), Dharavi, or Mahim, where slum tenements are found to rise up to four storey. The political class has to take a firm stand against the proliferation of ground plus one residential tenements in slums.”
The illegal power lines
A resident of Juhu Galli told The Hindu , “It is an open secret that most homes here boast of two connections. One is officially metered line provided by Reliance, and the second being the illegal line for which they pay an informal network that steals power from the legal Reliance sub stations. When there are inspections, the illegal connections are simply disconnected from individual homes.”
The Hindu was able to track the illegal power supply channels. Operators, believed to be paying officials at the power utility a fixed monthly amount, and individuals collect charges from slums dwellers based on the number of appliances consuming electricity. “The illegal power suppliers operate in the dead of night and operatives can be seen on the rooftops around 1am. They display immense dexterity while handling live wires. This illegal electric supply is the root cause of the repeat fires,” the resident, who did not want to be identified, said.
The writer is a freelance journalist
