Kolkata Govt asks high rise owners to submit building plans

It was decided that owners or residents of high rise buildings above 14.5 metres have to submit their building plan to the fire brigade and local police station besides a copy of the plan with the caretaker of the concerned building, Kolkata Municipal Corporation sources said.

The plan has to be submitted within a fortnight or else action will be initiated, sources said.
KMC commissioner Arnab Roy said that the sanctioned plan of the Stephen Court building was yet to be traced. City police chief Gautam Mohan Chakraborty said the police and rescue workers faced difficulties in carrying out rescue work immediately after the fire broke out in the absence of a building plan.

Seventeen bodies were found on the stairs of the building leading to a locked door. The locked door could not be located by the rescue workers.

Debasish Kar, director general (building), KMC, meanwhile said 45 buildings and markets in the city have been identified to be in "dangerous" condition.

KMC sources said that a team comprising officers from the Corporation, power utility CESC Ltd, fire brigade and city police would inspect these buildings shortly.The state government has also decided to raise a 200 personnel strong Civil Defence Emergency Response Force to conduct rescue operations in emergency.

"We have learnt a lesson from the Stephen Court incident and this tragedy has worked as our eye-opener," Civil Defence minister Sreekumar Mukherjee said.He said yesterday that the government has decided to raise a highly trained force in two months time under the Civil Defence ministry to conduct rescue operations in such a situation or a terror strike.The proposal was also approved by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, he said.