Mushrooming of illegal godowns a cause of concern

According to a 2019 BBMP survey, many were running without fire safety compliances, and out of residential areas

The recent fire incident at a cotton bed godown in Sanjeevini Nagar has raised concerns about the proliferation of makeshift storage facilities that are operating without licences and fire safety measures.

On March 24, a godown on Muddalapalya Road in Sanjeevini Nagar, caught fire because of a short circuit. About 80 kg of cotton was gutted but no casualties were reported.

“The owner would purchase old and worn-out beds and reuse the cotton in them to make new beds. The machine used to soften these cotton had a faulty wiring system. That caused the short circuit,” a senior officer with the Chandra
Layout police station spoke of the accidental fire. He says it could have been averted if the godown had good ventilation and infrastructure like fire extinguishers.

‘Never make godowns in
residential areas’

A senior official from BBMP, points to another worry: “We conducted a survey of all the godowns in the city in 2019 and found that many were running illegally without licences and operating out of areas that are strictly residential. About 15 years ago, the corporation had decided to issue licences for all commercial activities. This is when godowns started mushrooming.”

Many of these godowns are temporary sheet structures or a part of the house used to store goods, such as the terrace. “There are no exhaust fans, no lights, no ventilation. None of the buildings (these godowns come up in) is compliant with fire safety norms,” says the official.

Godowns should never come up in residential areas, he cautions and says that the Karnataka Municipal Council (KMC) Act clearly states what kind of structures and businesses can be built where. He clarifies there is no mention of ‘semi-commercial’ areas under the Act; the city is divided into residential, commercial and industrial areas. He feels the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) should have classified the older neighbourhoods like Basavanagudi and Gandhi Bazaar as strictly residential and not opened them up for commercial activities.

A High Court ruling further says that no commercial activity is permitted on roads that are not 40 ft wide. “But if you visit Malleswaram 8th Cross, Rajajinagar and Bashyam Circle, you will see clothes, shoes and other shops on roads that are just 15 ft wide,” the official points out the “violations”.

When BBMP finds non-compliant godowns during the surprise inspection, it asks Bescom to cut off their power, informs the official. Plus, the new rules under the KMC Act have called for the regulation of godowns.

‘BBMP must not approve structures for random uses’

Sunil Agarwal, former additional director general of police, Karnataka State Fire & Emergency Services, feels it’s the BBMP that needs to get its act together and stop approving structures for random uses. “The fire department plays a supportive role. (When we see fire safety hazards), we write to the BBMP, marking a copy to the owner of the structure,” he says.

He compares the mushrooming of terrace godowns to that of the rooftop eateries in Bengaluru. During his tenure, he came across terrace-top cafes that were operating because they had got clearance from BBMP’s health department. “The approved plan (of the buildings) was never to run a cafe on the rooftop. That should have been a good reason for the BBMP to not issue an approval.” And an approval must also be from the fire safety perspective, not only health, he adds.

An officer working with the fire and emergency department said that the new buildings in Bengaluru are complying with fire safety protocols laid down in the National Building Code of India and are approaching them for no-objection certificates (NOCs). “But it is the owners of the old, illegal, congested buildings, which have no setback, that don’t apply for NOCs. They fear they may not get through,” he says. An industry or storage facility needs to put in 10-12 safety measures in place to get a NOC from the fire department, he adds.

When asked if the fire department conducts audits at such godowns, he said there are “no strict rules”. “If the government makes compulsory bylaws, then we can take action.”

However, Shivakumar, director, fire services, tells Metrolife that fire accidents in godowns are rare in the city.