The building, Bhandari House located in Batra Complex, is one of several commercial buildings leaning on each other in Mukherjee Nagar. Much of the business here revolves around coaching centres that have mushroomed in the vicinity. The building which caught fire is constructed over a roughly 300 square yard plot and includes a basement, ground floor, and four upper floors. At least two large coaching centres, a bunch of smaller institutes, a library, an office, and some shops are among the establishments operating out of the complex located less than 4km from the Delhi university's North Campus.
The injured included mostly students who either fell while attempting to climb down the building with the help of ropes, pipes, and cables from the top floors, or were hurt in a stampede while trying to escape the smoke, police said.
"Most injuries were relatively minor. Those who fell early suffered more serious injuries, but all are likely to survive. About 11 of them will continue to remain hospitalised through the night," said Jitendra Meena, deputy commissioner of police (northwest).
No fire clearance
The fire department said the coaching centres in the building did not have a fire no-objection certificate (NOC), simply because no coaching centres ever applied for one.
"There is no clarity on which agency regulates coaching centres, because of which no one has ever applied for an NOC with us," said Atul Garg, director, Delhi Fire Services.
Garg, as well as students and eyewitnesses, said that the fire began in electric meters installed along the staircase on the ground floor. However, Tata Power Limited -- the discom that supplies electricity in north Delhi said that on-ground team inspection and prima facie probe showed that the smoke started from the air-conditioning unit on the fourth floor, and not around the electricity meters.
Denne historien er fra June 16, 2023-utgaven av Hindustan Times.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 16, 2023-utgaven av Hindustan Times.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Palestinian PM Resigns Citing 'New Reality' Of War In Gaza
The United States and other powers have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority to take charge of all Palestinian territories after the end of war
Future Perfect: The Kids Are All Right
Gill and Jurel hold out promise by simplifying a challenging chase to help India seal series
Akshay feels 'blessed' to have worked with OG Ramayan cast
Director Akshay K Agarwal shot a music video, Humare Ram Aaye Hai, with the cast of the 1987 TV show, Ramayanactors Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri - in Ayodhya recently.
Musk's firm gets nod for Sat Net; joins Jio, Bharti
Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been allowed to offer satellite broadband services in India, two officials aware of the development said.
A temple, 169 years in the making
Through decades of design and reworks, hurdles in engineering and construction, HT pieces together how the grandeur of the Ram Temple was reclaimed
'Political interference' forces Vihari to quit Andhra cricket
After Andhra bowed out of the Ranji Trophy at the quarter-final stage with a four-run defeat to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday, senior batter Hanuma Vihari launched a scathing attack on the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), saying he will never turn up for the state again.
Shafali, Kapp lead Capitals to a 9-wicket win over Warriorz
A blazing fifty by Shafali Verma (64₹, 43 balls) helped Delhi Capitals make a mockery of a target of 120 and open their account in the second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Making 'unbelievable things believable', the Ayhika way
The India No. 7 was an inspired pick for the world team event and she repaid the faith, beating the Chinese world No.1
'Connected TVs to reach 45 mn by 2024-end in India'
With improvement in broadband penetration, Indian households are increasingly opting for connected or addressable TVs.
India chip strategy makes progress as $21 billion in proposals received
The Indian government, after years of watching from the sidelines of the chips race, now has to evaluate $21 billion of semiconductor proposals and divvy up taxpayer support between foreign chipmakers, local champions or some combination of the two.
