Fix fire safety gaps in 30 days or shift buildings, Bhopal coaching institutes told

Bhopal: The Bhopal municipal Corporation (BMC) administration on Tuesday gave an ultimatum to coaching institutes either to rectify deficiencies in mandatory fire safety measures in their coaching building or shift to some other building, which fulfils the fire safety norms.The BMC officials on Tuesday organised a meeting with owners or franchisees of the coaching institutes to drive home the point that safety of students at the coaching classes will not be compromised. Giving the institutes 30 days to make required changes in the building design and make provisions of equipment as required under the mandatory fire safety norms or shift to a new building, if it’s not possible. The meeting was organised after operators of eight coaching classes, which the BMC has closed for lack of adequate fire safety arrangements, met the officials and assured to comply with the BMC directives on fire safety measures shortly and requested the officials to open the coaching classes in the interest of its students.During Tuesday’s meeting at the BMC headquarters, BMC additional commissioner Tanmay Vashisht Sharma said commercial interests of coaching centre operators can’t be allowed to take precedence over safety of its studentsInformed sources in BMC told TOI that coaching centre buildings in MP Nagar, which is regarded as the coaching hub of the city, were not designed for the purpose they are being used for. They are not ‘fit’ to run coaching classes.

The BMC has issued notices to 62 coaching institutes so far for fire safety norm violations and eight of them were locked but four of them were allowed to reopen on Tuesday after they submitted affidavits assuring compliance with the fire safety norms.