carlton towers

Nine people lost their lives and over 60 were injured in the fire that broke out in Carlton towers on 23rd February 2010. Four years later, how safe are our buildings, especially high-rises, from the perspective of fire hazards, is a question that needs to be urgently answered. The Beyond Carlton Memorial Lecture this year, saw Rajya Sabha MP and Chairman of Namma Bengaluru Foundation, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, speaking on 'Making City Government Agencies Accountable for Public Safety'. Rajeev started his talk by mentioning that the significance of an event such as the Carlton Tragedy, while painful to those affected, served…

It has been two months since Bengaluru witnessed the fire at Carlton towers. Nine lives were lost. Then came the fire at Gold towers on Residency Road and another in a godown in Peenya. Just four months into 2010 and the fire department has attended to over 900 fire-related calls.All this and there is still no system in place to periodically check for fire safety violations in high-rise buildings in the city. While officials of the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services (KSFES) are toothless as they do not have powers to reinspect Bengaluru's buildings after issuing the Occupancy Certificate,…

It has been less than two months since the Carlton Towers fire accident took place. A week after the incident, Commissioner of Police Shankar Bidari issued a notification saying that owners/lease-holders/occupants of such buildings must adhere to a set of rules and regulations, and report the same to the nearest police station by April 15th, 2010. In case the building is not according to the plan sanctioned by the local authority, the Commissioner has set June 30th, 2010, as the deadline to conform to the approved plan.The order says that these buildings must comply with the guidelines as prescribed in…

After the Carlton towers fire incident in Bangalore, Commissioner of Police Shankar M Bidari issued a notification to all high-rise building owners and occupants to comply with approved plan sanctions and fire safety norms.In this exclusive interview with Citizen Matters, Bidari spoke in detail about the order he has given. Bidari has been the Commissioner of Police since 2008. He has previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order). With this recent order, Bidari appeals to the citizens of Bangalore to follow fire safety regulations and report any violations. Even…

February 23, 2010: Fire broke out at Carlton Towers, Bangalore. 9 dead, 60 injured. January 2008: Burrabazar in Kolkata witnessed the worst of its kind fire accident which raged on for nearly one week destroying several shops and establishments. July 16, 2004 : A school in Kumbakonam is engulfed in fire killing more than 90 innocent children. June 13, 1997 : Uphaar theatre in Delhi catches fire while a show is in progress. Many lives lost in this tragic fire accident. This is what the news a few years from now will read, mere statistics of what happened and how…