Guwahati inferno remains uncontrolled for over 38 hrs; multiple agencies called in
Guwahati (PTI): Water tenders from the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Guwahati Refinery joined efforts to contain a massive fire that has been raging for over 38 hours at a commercial complex in Guwahati housing a shopping mall and SBI's premium banking and commercial branches, officials said on Thursday.
More than 25 fire tenders have been pressed into service since the incident, with additional units arriving from Morigaon, Kamrup and Nalbari districts.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was also called in with high-tech smoke-reduction equipment to assist in the operation.
The fire broke out at Swagata Square Complex in ABC Point around 12.30 am on Wednesday.
"There is fire on the sixth floor. We are trying to douse it," a senior official of the Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) told PTI.
Smoke is also billowing from the second floor, where the fire originated at the godown of the shopping mall, he added.
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"There is fire at the backside of the building. However, due to non-adherence to safety norms while construction, fire tenders are unable to reach the rear," another official said.
He said the authorities concerned did not enforce required safety norms while permitting a commercial structure of this size.
Visiting the site, Kamrup Metropolitan District Commissioner Sumit Sattawan said preliminary enquiries found that the building had all safety clearances.
"The building owner said the audit was done two months ago. So, prima facie, it seems the building does not have any issue," he told reporters.
The authorities will wait for a final report from the F&ES Department after dousing the blaze, Sattawan said.
"If there is any lapse, we will definitely take action against those responsible. We will come to know about the details of the origin of the fire from the report," he added.
So far, only one firefighter has sustained a minor injury and was treated at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
"Our boys immediately responded to the fire call post-midnight on Wednesday and reached the spot within 15 minutes. We could stop the fire from spreading," the F&ES official said.
"The fire originated at the godown of the mall on the second floor, where a lot of inflammable materials and clothes were stored," he added.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), in a statement, said fire personnel are attempting to control the spread of fire and prevent it from reaching the lower floors.
"Due to zero visibility and heavy smoke, the fire could not be controlled effectively in the initial stage. The building premises and surrounding areas have been secured. Evacuation protocols were initiated for safety," it added.
ASDMA said that preliminary observation suggests significant damage to the affected floors, but a detailed assessment will be done once the fire is fully controlled.
The cause of the fire is still unknown at this stage, it added.
An ASDMA official told PTI that fire has been controlled, but it is not yet fully doused due to many inflammable materials in the building.
"There are no flames now but smoke is billowing. We are working on dousing the blaze completely," he said.
"We have been told that the fire has just been controlled, but fire department officials are still assessing the building. They are likely to observe it for few more hours. We will be able to check the lockers and other items in detail only after getting an entry into the different floors," a senior SBI official told reporters outside the building.
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Govt using women's quota pretext to push delimitation: TMC
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New Delhi (PTI): The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday accused the government of using the pretext of early implementation of women's reservation law to "bulldoze" its "real agenda of delimitation".
The TMC said it has always supported women's reservation, but the government cannot "rush" through a bill that will "change the political map" of India based on the 2011 Census.
Parliament is set to meet from April 16 to 18 to consider bills to ensure the implementation of the 33 per cent quota in legislative bodies for women in the 2029 elections. It includes increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 seats, with 273 seats reserved for women, and amendments to the Delimitation Act to enable redrawing of constituencies.
In a post on X, TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien shared a video of his earlier speech on the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 -- also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam -- and underlined his party’s long-standing advocacy for women’s reservation.
He recalled that TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had raised the issue in Parliament as early as July 14, 1998.
Highlighting his party’s track record, O’Brien pointed to the proportion of women candidates fielded and elected by the TMC, stating that the party had given 41 per cent tickets to women in 2014 and currently has one of the highest shares of women MPs.
"Modi govt cannot rush through a bill in a special parliament session bang in the middle of Assembly Polls, a bill that will change the political map of India based on the 2011 census (data which is fifteen years old) in 2026 without greater discussion (sic)," TMC Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose said on X.
"Mr Modi-Shah must be reminded: India is not a single-party democracy. Bulldozing and bullying is against the parliamentary spirit," she said.
In a post on X, TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale accused the government of running a "fake and malicious agenda " claiming it wants “early reservations for women in Parliament”.
"In reality, Modi is using women as an excuse to bulldoze his real agenda of delimitation (which is redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha & Assembly seats in states to benefit the BJP)," he alleged.
He said that at the time of passage of the bill on women's reservation in 2023, opposition parties had expressed concern that its implementation would be delayed, but the government had ignored them, and said it would happen after the Census in 2026.
"Now, suddenly, just when Bengal and Tamil Nadu are going to elections, Modi decides that delimitation will be done before the 2026 Census. Instead of conducting delimitation based on India’s actual population, the Modi government has come up with its own unknown formula," he said.
He questioned the connection between delimitation and women's reservation, and what is stopping the government from implementing it on the existing 543 seats without delimitation.
The Union Cabinet has cleared draft bills to operationalise the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The proposed changes include increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 seats, with 273 seats reserved for women.
The legislative package is expected to include a Constitution amendment bill to modify provisions of the Act, alongside amendments to the Delimitation Act to enable redrawing of constituencies in line with the expanded House strength.
Another bill is also likely to extend the implementation of the reservation framework to Union Territories with legislatures, including Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.
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