Ghaziabad: In the last month, the city has witnessed several major fire incidents, and Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has been issuing notices to societies failing to meet fire safety norms. But the development authority’s own house is not in order when it comes to fire safety. Except for a dozen or so fire extinguishers, the development authority’s Navyug Market has minimal and even obsolete fire safety equipment. The extinguishers at the premises have also not been refilled since 2017.The office sees a daily footfall of around 250 people — including employees, residents and officials.In 2015 and 2017, the building saw major fire incidents that gutted the vice chairperson’s office, damaging property worth lakhs along with many important documents.The development authority has an annual budget of thousands of crores, and yet, it has failed to adhere to fire safety norms. The fire department previously wrote to GDA, urging officials to amp up its minimal firefighting system, to no avail.“Except for a few fire extinguishers, the GDA office building lacks even basic firefighting systems, many of which have gone obsolete. There are no hydrants, smoke detectors and smoke alarms. On our part, we have written to GDA to upgrade its system, but so far nothing substantial has been done,” said a fire official.When asked about the glaring holes in fire safety measures on the premises, a GDA official told TOI that they are in the process of upgrading the fire systems, for which a Rs 40 lakh tender has been floated. “The system will be in place by next month,” the official said.The official added that GDA’s new office building is being constructed in Madhuban Bapudham at a cost of Rs 112 crore. “The office building will have two blocks — G+1 and G+7 — and is being constructed under green building code with a modern firefighting system, and it is expected to be ready in two years,” the official said.GDA’s current office building was originally a shopping complex that was converted into an office space in the late 1990s.
