Seven killed, over 40 injured as fire engulfs Mumbai residential building; 30 rescued
Mumbai (PTI): Seven people, including two minors, were killed and over 40 injured after a fire tore through a residential building in Mumbai's Goregaon area in the early hours of Friday, a civic official said. A few of the injured are in critical condition.
As many as 30 residents were rescued from the terrace and various floors of the ground-plus-seven structure, said the official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The blaze started around 3 am at Jay Sandesh building in Goregaon West, the BMC official said. Initially, officials had given the name of the fire-hit building as Jay Bhavani. The cause behind the fire is yet to be determined, said officials.
The fire-affected persons were rushed to a trauma centre at Jogeshwari and civic-run Cooper Hospital at Juhu, they said.
Of them, doctors declared six including two minors and as many women dead. Another person died during treatment, taking the toll to seven. Some of the injured persons are in critical condition, said officials.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the incident. "Pained to know about loss of lives in the fire incident at #Goregaon, Mumbai. We are in touch with BMC & Mumbai Police officials & all the assistance is being provided. My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones and wishing speedy recovery to the injured ones," he wrote on X.
Before firefighters arrived at the scene, the blaze had covered the building from all sides. It completely gutted the shops, scrap material and two-wheelers on the ground floor, said fire officials.
It took nearly three hours for the fire brigade to extinguish the blaze. More than eight fire engines and other firefighting equipment were used in the operation, a fire official said.
BMC officials said they are trying to find out if some more victims are admitted to private hospitals.
Civic commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal is scheduled to visit the hospitals, where the injured are admitted, in some time, officials said.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
