No respite to Mumbai from fire; three more incidents reported
Mumbai: Three fire incidents were reported since Monday midnight, said a senior fire brigade official, adding to a string of such cases since December 29 when an inferno killed 14 people in a pub here.
However, no casualty was reported in the latest incidents, said the official.
A fire broke out just past midnight in a shop in a chawl in Dockyard Road, Byculla, he said.
"Six fire engines and water tankers were rushed to the spot and they doused the flames in less than two hours (by 2 am)," he said, adding no one was injured.
In the second incident, the fire brigade control room received a call at 10 am about a fire in a ground plus three- storey residential apartment on Juhu Tara Road in suburban Vile Parle.
"Fire brigade personnel immediately rushed to the spot and put out the blaze within 25 minutes," the official said, adding no one was injured.
The third incident was reported in the evening from Amboli Naka in Andheri (West) where a bamboo godown went up in flames, he said.
The blaze was reported at 5.37 pm and five fire engines were rushed to the spot, he said.
"The fire at the bamboo godown has been brought under control," the official said, adding no casualty was reported.
The cause of the fire at all the three places was not yet known.
The financial capital has been hit by a string of fire incidents in the last fortnight.
The deadliest of them was on December 29 when a devastating inferno killed 14 people at an upscale pub in the Kamala Mills Compound.
On January 4, four persons, including two children, were killed and five others seriously injured after an upper floor of a residential building in suburban Marol caught fire.
A 20-year-old man, who worked for a television serial production unit, was killed in a fire at the Cine Vista film studio in suburban Kanjurmarg on January 6.
Yesterday, a fire broke out is the sessions court building in south Mumbai in which some official records were gutted.
Earlier on December 18, 12 labourers were killed in a massive blaze at a snack-making unit in Saki Naka-Kurla.
As the metropolis battles frequent blazes, the fire department urged people and commercial establishments to take preventive measures to avoid such tragedies.
"Safety measures are a must to avoid such incidents.
Apart from taking preventive steps, people should be alert and immediately inform the department about such incidents," said Deputy Chief Fire Officer Kailash Hivrale.
People should keep a watch on electrical wiring in residential buildings and commercial outlets, he said.
Meanwhile, BJP Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya visited three film and TV studios after the fire at Cine Vista.
He said these studios, located in Kanjurmarg and Bhandup, don't have proper fire fighting systems in place.
"Today, I visited three film and TV studios and found they don't have fire safety systems in place. I told this to the municipal commissioner and demanded strong action against these studios," said the Mumbai North-East MP.
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We need to create system in which people's skills get their due: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Friday called for creating a system in which people's skills get their due and everyone's contribution is respected, as he shared a Diwali video in which he interacts with paint job workers and potters.
Posting the over nine-minute video which features him also having a conversation with his nephew Raihan Rajiv Vadra on YouTube, the former Congress chief said, "A memorable Diwali with special people - I celebrated this Diwali working with some painter brothers and making earthen diyas with a potter family."
"I saw their work closely, tried to learn their skills and understood their difficulties and problems. They don't go home. We celebrate festivals happily and to earn some money, they forget their village, city, family," Gandhi said.
"They make happiness from clay. While lighting up the festivals of others, are they able to live in light themselves? Those who build houses can hardly run their own houses!" he said.
Gandhi said Diwali means light that can remove the darkness of poverty and helplessness.
"We have to create such a system -- in which people's skills get their due and contribution is respected -- makes everyone's Diwali a happy one. I hope this Diwali brings prosperity, progress and love in the lives of all of you," he said.
In the video, Gandhi is seen working with labourers at the 10 Janpath residence and learning to paint walls along with his nephew. In the second part of the video, Gandhi goes to the house of a woman who makes earthen lamps with her five daughters.
Gandhi tries his hand at pottery and makes 'diyas', which he says he would give to his mother and sister.
Since his Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra and his Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi has been interacting with a cross-section of people from mechanics and cobblers to labourers and bus drivers.
He often posts videos of his numerous interactions and highlights the plight of various sections of society.
