more-in Neelam Krishnamoorthy, convener of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), says there is an urgent need to fill up vacancies in the Delhi Fire Service. Ms. Krishnamoorthy lost her two teenaged children in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy in 1997 that claimed 59 lives. Since then, the AVUT has been fighting for justice for the victims of the Uphaar tragedy, and for improvements in fire laws and regulations in the country. The Delhi Fire Service (DFS), as per its own admission, has a manpower shortage of around 56% in the operational ranks. Your comment? That such a large number of positions for firemen are lying vacant in the DFS is as shocking as the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities responsible for ensuring that these vacancies do not exist in the first place. Are these authorities and government departments only there for the sake of formulating policies which look good on papers and files? That seems to be the only job they are good at. It is ridiculous that the authorities cannot even ensure the bare minimum, such as having the sanctioned manpower, when it comes to a service as essential as firefighting. Fire is like war — it does not warn the other side to prepare for it. There is also a shortfall of over 62% in its communications department. Do you think this shortage has a bearing on the DFS’ overall functioning? Of course, it has a negative impact on the functioning of the DFS. Since 1997, I have been confronting the various aspects of firefighting and factors that influence DFS’ response time. Unfortunately, not much seems to have changed since. Did you know that the gap in communication capabilities, which emerged later, was the reason behind hospitals not being alerted in time to provide medical assistance to victims of the Uphaar fire tragedy? How can there be an effective coordinated response to an incident if the communications are not up to speed? If the communication apparatus is lacking in any way, then categorisation of the incident — whether the fire is small or large — will be delayed; roads will not be cleared, leading to fire tenders reaching the spot late; and hospitals will not be ready to tend to victims. The authorities say that the process of increasing DFS’ manpower is under way and is being held up as it is time consuming. Your comment? The truth is that there is red tape and corruption. Who is to blame for delays in something which is as basic — but of immediate concern — as filling up vacancies for firemen in a city as large as Delhi? People who formulate policies around recruitment and equipping the DFS with adequate infrastructure, which are long-winded and finally ineffective, are to blame. To cite the example of warfare again, there isn’t a war every day but the least one can do is ensure that one’s army is ready in the event one breaks out. Leave firefighting aside for a moment. What about prevention of fire tragedies through regular inspections and fire safety appraisals of commercial and residential areas in the city? Surely, the fact that half the manpower that is sanctioned for it is missing must have a bearing on this very important aspect of the fire department’s functioning, which is already suffering due to corruption. What in your view should the authorities, including the Delhi government, do to remedy the prevailing situation? There were press reports about a review of the DFS at the highest levels of the Delhi government last year and we were hopeful that things would change for the better. But nothing has and it is extremely disappointing. There is bound to be loss of life with such a large deficit in manpower in the DFS. More than two decades after Uphaar, very little has changed in the attitude of governments when it comes to the issue of fire safety. Governments wake up and take notice only when there is a serious tragedy. Ex-gratia compensation is paid and things go back to the way they were. Why even let such a situation arise in the first place? Why not use the money they pay to victims’ families as compensation, to upgrade firefighting capabilities and save lives in the process? One shudders when one realises if this is the state of affairs in terms of fire safety in the national Capital, how things in this respect must be in other parts of the country. What is the way forward? Unfortunately, governments in this country do not seem to care about issues such as fire safety. Rather than petitioning governments, I believe the only way forward is moving the judiciary. That is the only way this country works — the current sealing drive, which has taken off after years due to court pressure, is a case in point. I see no other way. How the system compromises on human lives in relation to fire safety is evident — filling vacant posts is not rocket science, especially if it is to better emergency services.

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