Odisha HC seeks report from Govt over fire safety measures at SCB Medical College and Hospital

Cuttack: The Odisha High court gave the Odisha government a final opportunity to file their status report while hearing a seven-year-old Public Interest Litigation on Wednesday regarding the issue of fire safety measures at SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCB MCH) in Cuttack. 

The petition was filed way back on October 13, 2015 by Maitree Sansad, a city-based socio-cultural organisation which sought directions to ensure proper fire safety arrangements at the SCB MCH, which has been pending in the court for around seven years now. 

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The petition filed by Maitree Sansad, represented by Advocate Ajay Mohanty stated that the situation at the 2,600 bedded hospital is poor, which could lead to severe consequences due to the shortage of fire extinguishers. The petition further alleged that a special team of Orissa Fire Services had conducted the hospital's survey following which it had asked officials to set up fire-resistant mechanisms in all the departments. 

Due to the delay by the state government to file a reply to the issues in the petition, the court was unable to move forward with the petition. The PIL last was heard in the court on August 1, when the counsel representing the state government said that they would file a detailed report on the issue in addition to the current position of the fire safety arrangements in SCB MCH. 

The court had fixed November 9 as the next date of hearing, so that the state government would have enough time to file a reply affidavit. But the situation remained the same as the counsel representing the state sought time from the court to file a status report, reports The New Indian Express. 

The two-judge division bench comprising Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice MS Raman granted the state government a 'final opportunity' to file a reply affidavit by Wednesday, following which the next hearing has been scheduled for January 4. 

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