Surat: The deadly fire at a coaching centre in Lucknow on Monday reopened old wounds in Gujarat, with families of the victims of the 2019 Takshashila Arcade blaze saying that justice remains elusive even seven years on, and warning that delays will continue to fuel similar tragedies across the country.The fire in Surat on May 24, 2019, had claimed 22 lives, most of them students attending coaching classes.The victims’ families said the trial has progressed slowly, with 14 accused still facing proceedings in a local court. The court is expected to record the statement of the investigating officer at the next hearing in July.Dinesh Kevadiya, whose daughter Yashvi was one of the victims, said he moved the Supreme Court in Dec 2025 with a PIL over lapses in disaster management and implementation of the National Building Code, and seeking expedited hearings in cases involving multiple deaths.“There has been no progress since the filing of the PIL. The Supreme Court issued returnable notice in four weeks to the state govt six months ago. Since then there has been no development in the case,” Kevadiya told TOI. He is appearing as party-in-person.Parents said they have repeatedly raised the issue with the authorities. “After the Takshashila fire we thought that the govt would ensure that similar incidents did not happen. But they are continuing in various parts of the country. There is a need of a quick trial so that we get justice and similar incidents can be prevented,” said Jaysukh Gajera, whose daughter Grishma was killed in the fire.Hitesh Surani, the father of another victim, Hasti, said that the Lucknow incident showed a lack of deterrence. “Quicker punishments for earlier fires would have proved a deterrence,” he said.Kevadiya said recurring fires since 2019 prompted the PIL. “Several similar incidents have taken place across the country since then. That was the reason why I filed a PIL, but there is no progress on that front as well,” he added.In the Takshashila case, 14 accused were arrested and later granted bail. Eight are govt officials and six are linked to the building ownership and the coaching class.Those named include building administrator Jignesh Paghdar; owners Savji Paghdar, Harsukh Vekariya, Ravindra Kahar and Dinesh Vekariya; coaching class owner Bhargav Butani; Surat Municipal Corporation executive engineers Parag Munshi and Jayesh Solanki; deputy engineers Vinu Parmar and Himanshu Gajjar; junior engineer Atul Gorsawala; Surat Fire and Emergency Service officials deputy chief fire officer Sanjay Acharya and fire officer Kirti Modh; and Dipak Naik, deputy engineer of Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited.
