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’62 deaths per day caused by fire accidents: Ensure a safe India before ‘Make in India’

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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – Benjamin Franklin

 Lives lost and perhaps forgotten

The shocking and gruesome fire at the SUM Hospital in Bhubaneshwar, which saw the loss of 27 lives and the subsequent resignation of the Odisha Health Minister, has concurrently reduced the current lackluster regulatory mechanism to ashes. According to the data of The National Crime Records Bureau, fire accidents in India in the last five years have consumed on an average, 62 deaths per day.Also, between 2001 and 2014, close to 3 lakh deaths were reported because of fire accidents in India. In 2014, according to the World Health Rankings based on data of the World Health Organization, India’s mortality rate caused by fires stood at 4.68 per 1 lakh deaths and was notably higher than the death rate of Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

 

The recent incident, which is not the only one of its kind, has yet again highlighted the need for effective implementation of safety regulations which focuses on prevention rather than cure.  Unfortunately, recurrent incidents such as the 1997 tragedy at Delhi’s Uphaar Cinema, the 2004 Srirangam Marriage Hall Fire Tragedy in Tamil Nadu, the 2010 Stephen Court Fire Tragedy in Kolkata, the 2011 mishap at Kolkata’s AMRI Hospital and the 2015 power failure at the ICU of the Chennai’s Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology reflects that mere realization of the need for stringent reform is not enough, the key, is implementation-implementation-implementation

 

Known challenges but unknown solutions

The current fire and life safety regulatory architecture in India is adorned by several legislations, codes and standard setting mechanisms. However, failure to implement these regulations is evident from recurring ghastly fire accidents in the past. Time and again, such incidents have raised the same challenges of improper implementation, lack of individual accountability and an inefficient monitoring mechanism.

 

Failure to address these challenges through tangible solutions renders these regulations as mere wishful codes of conduct. Structural and well as operational reforms need to be injected into the present mechanism which currently lacks the capacity to deter the widespread and blatant violations especially by essential facility providers such as hospitals, cinema halls, hotels, etc.

 

Saving lives through precautionary regulations

The need of the hour is affirmative action through an efficient approach which is not only remedial in nature but also precautionary. A three-pronged approach of preventive regulation would significantly help in reducing violations.

 

Firstly, regulations governing safety mechanisms ought to be implemented in a pro-active manner through regular audits, inspections and monitoring.Regulation needs to focus more on methodologies such as periodic, targeted scrutiny and reporting on whether services are meeting national and local performance standards and targets the needs of consumers. Moreover, the repercussions of not adhering to the regulations should be severe in nature so that safety of the consumers is not compromised due to the negligent attitude of officials. Thus, there is a need to ensure strict accountability on part of the negligent officials.

 

Secondly, structural changes to the current regulations need to be brought in so as to reassure compliance through deterrence. For example, as of now the non-compliance under the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010 is checked through monetary penalties on the individuals responsible for the contravention. The maximum fine goes up to a meager 5 lakh rupees which is imposed after three consecutive contraventions. This amount does not even scrape the surface of the humongous profits which the management officials of private hospitals accrue, let alone act as a detriment.

 

Thus, provisions which impose civil liabilities in the form of fines for penalizing non-compliant clinical establishments are not discouraging enough. Affixing the possibility of criminal liability on individuals who are responsible for regular implementation and maintenance of safety regulations could have the appropriate deterring effect.

 

Thirdly, support from the judicial system is indispensable to ensure that accountability is affixed properly. Unfortunately, the Indian judicial system took approximately 4,000 hearings and 18 years to decide the case of the Uphaar cinema mishap which is one of the most clear cut cases of causing death by negligence in Indian history. Therefore, in order to ensure swift justice, it is imperative for the judiciary to conduct fast-track proceedings which would considerably aid in effective implementation of safety norms and in turn encourage compliance by building a genuine fear of stern regulations.

 

Making safety the topmost priority

In the “World Health Report 2000: Health Systems, Improving Performances”, the WHO ranked India on the 112th position out of 191 countries and neighbouring smaller countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh fared comparatively well.

 

In the current Indian scenario, maintenance of fire and life safety norms is not a priority for institutions especially for those providing essential healthcare facilities. The State and local municipal authorities desperately need to take notice of the rampant violations of safety regulations and building codes. Recurring mishaps are a clear result of regulatory failure and poor compliance mechanisms. Time and again, the state and municipal authorities have failed to take affirmative action leading to frequent occurrences of loss of life which could have been easily prevented.Perhaps alongside building its global image as a business friendly country, the time is ripe for India to ensure the safety of its human resource first.

(The author is Mr. Udai S Mehta, Deputy Executive Director &Parveer Singh Ghuman, Research Associate, CUTS International)

Also Read: Mrs Funnybones and AK witty at another level in Koffee With Karan

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