Gujarat HC seeks status of Fire NOCs for hospitals

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has asked the state government to provide details regarding fire safety measures in hospitals across the state, including the number of hospitals and whether they have valid Fire No Objection Certificates (NOCs).

This direction came during the hearing of a suo motu PIL related to the deadly fire at the TRP Game Zone in Rajkot in May last year, where 27 people, including four children, lost their lives.

During the hearing, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi informed the court that both private and government schools are now following fire safety rules and have obtained the required NOCs.

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In response, Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal asked about the state's action regarding the hospital's fire safety measures. She asked Trivedi, “Next is hospitals. Now do the same as you have done for the schools. That is very much required. What do you propose to do?”

Ahmedabad Mirror reported that Trivedi assured the court that the government will take similar steps for hospitals as well. He said, "We will file the position with respect to hospitals in the same manner as we did for schools. To the best of my knowledge, most hospitals are compliant. We will ensure that those who are not complying will be addressed. We have details on hospitals operating in the state and their fire NOC status. We should be able to provide that information."

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi was hearing a group of petitions, including the suo motu petition initiated by the HC after the tragedy last year.

The bench also requested information about the structure of fire services in the state. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on July 18.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that four patients died and around 200 others were evacuated from the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (KMCH) on Friday, after a fire and heavy smoke filled the casualty ward. The incident occurred after an explosion, reportedly caused by a short circuit from the UPS installed in the room. There was panic as a large amount of smoke and fire was seen coming out from the Super speciality block of the Kozhikode Medical College hospital (KMCH) on Friday.

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