Following the tragic fire incident that claimed two lives at Jai Kamal Complex in Mahal, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has launched a strict action drive targeting fire safety violations. On Tuesday, officials from the Ganjipeth Fire Station served notices to 78 units in the building — including 44 shops and 34 residential flats — for not having basic firefighting systems in place.
The notices were issued under Section 6 of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, just days after a fire broke out on June 14 in a flat that was being illegally used as a godown. The fire, which started during welding work, led to the tragic deaths of NK Light House owner Girish Khatri and his employee Vitthal due to suffocation. A welder also sustained critical injuries with severe burns. The presence of flammable materials stored in the flat made the fire even worse.
Shockingly, fire officials have found firecrackers stored in two other flats on the first and third floors, both reportedly owned by the Khatri family. This discovery has raised even more serious concerns about the open violation of fire safety rules in a residential building. The Khatri family is also among those who have been served notices for these violations.
The Jai Kamal Complex, comprising two wings—one with five floors above ground and the other with four—has come under fire for unauthorized commercial use beyond the approved ground-plus-one level. City officials have now launched a detailed investigation into the building’s sanctioned purpose, approved layout, and zoning compliance.
All unit holders have been instructed to submit relevant documents, including ownership records, approved building plans, and details of current usage, within a set deadline.
Chief Fire Officer Tushar Barahate confirmed the enforcement drive, stating that further steps would be taken based on the responses received. He also noted that the Khatri family has begun vacating the flats they had illegally converted into godowns.
Local residents, still shaken by the tragic incident, are calling for strict measures, including the immediate sealing of illegal godowns. While the fire department’s recent action is seen as the beginning of a broader cleanup operation, many locals feel the response has been delayed and that preventive action should have come much earlier.
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