Fire safety at SCB Medical College: Orrisa HC calls out Govt for evasive affidavit

Cuttack: After the Odisha government failed to provide a satisfactory response in its last affidavit filed at the beginning of this year regarding the issue of fire safety measures at SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCB MCH) in Cuttack, the Orrisa High Court once again rejected the affidavit, calling it evasive and short.   

The division bench of Chief Justice Subhasis Talapatra and Justice Savitri Ratho said it attempted to impart lessons on the basics of the Orissa Fire Prevention and Safety Act instead of complying with the direction issued by the court on August 14.

They were asked to file a detailed affidavit along with a comprehensive plan for safety measures required at SCB Medical College and Hospital and proper design for fire safety measures.

“But instead of filing a comprehensive affidavit dealing with the two important aspects, a very short affidavit has been filed giving a brief outline about what is required under Rule 13 and 14 (2) of Orissa Fire Prevention & Fire Safety Act 2017”, the bench observed, reports TNIE. 

Also read- Odisha HC Seeks Report From Govt Over Fire Safety Measures At SCB Medical College And Hospital

The bench added, “We are really constrained to observe that we did not ask for the lesson of the rules. We wanted build-up of the appropriate fire safety measures in the SCB MCH supported by a well-coordinated network of CCTV cameras”. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the Odisha High Court was unhappy with the lack of information related to the functioning of the CCTV cameras and the absence of a Fire department certificate.

The affidavit was filed in response to a seven-year-old long Public Interest Litigation filed by Maitree Sansad, a city-based socio-cultural organisation, represented by Advocate Ajay Mohanty. The PIL filed on October 13, 2015, sought the intervention of the court to ensure proper fire safety arrangements at SCB MCH.

The petition claimed that the hospital with a capacity of 2500 beds is in a dangerous situation due to the lack of fire extinguishers and shortage of CCTV cameras among other fire safety measures. The petition further alleged that the hospital failed to implement the fire-resistant mechanisms directed by the special team of Orissa Fire Services after conducting the hospital's survey.

The state has been granted time till September 26 to file a comprehensive affidavit and the matter is listed for September 29.

Also read- Orissa HC Issues Directions For Fire Safety Measures, CCTV Coverage Review In SCB Medical College Hospital