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Special teams to arrest owners of Saravana Stores

— Photo: Special Arrangement

ENSURING SAFETY: Director of Fire and Rescue Services K.R. Shyam Sundar interacting with shopkeepers at T.Nagar in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI: Three special teams have been formed to arrest Yogarathinam and Rajarathinam, proprietors of Saravana Stores, in connection with the fire in the shop, Commissioner of Police R. Sekar said here on Saturday.

“They are absconding. We have formed special teams, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, to apprehend them,” he said.

Two persons died in the fire in the shop on Ranganathan Street, T.Nagar, on Monday.

On Saturday morning, Director of Fire and Rescue Services K.R. Shyam Sundar asked shop owners in T. Nagar operating without fire licences to immediately apply through the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), as the festival season was approaching.

Addressing a fire safety awareness meeting of shop owners and representatives of the T. Nagar Merchants’ Association, Mr. Shyam Sundar said: “Shop owners should take the matter seriously, as it involves the safety of their customers, besides that of their own lives and property.”

The meeting was attended by 65 representatives of various retail outlets, including Saravana Stores, Jayachandran Textiles, Lalitha Jewellery and Chennai Silks.

Mr. Shyam Sundar said he suspected that the fire could have started around 3 a.m., whereas the Fire and Rescue Services was alerted only at 6.10 a.m. “When our team reached the spot, the flames were raging wildly, and our repeated queries to store authorities about the possibility of persons trapped inside were met with a firm ‘no’.”

Mr. Shyam Sundar told The Hindu that out of 694 commercial buildings in Chennai, only 123 had obtained no objection certificate from the DFRS. It had now requested the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and the Corporation to provide details of approval issued for multi-storey and special buildings.

When the DFRS receives the list, it will conduct a detailed verification of records and inspect the plans. Those who have not obtained the ‘no objection certificate’ and fire licence will be asked to apply immediately.

Action will be taken as per the Tamil Nadu Fire service Act, he said.

He also suggested that those who had not got proper planning approval obtain it immediately from the CMDA or the Corporation. Only after receiving instruction from the CMDA or the Corporation could the DFRS step in to inspect and issue fire licence.

The DRFS has issued a show-cause notice to Hyundai Motor India. Last Monday, a fire broke out at Hyundai Motor India factory at Irunkattukottai, injuring seven workers. The DFRS, much before the accident, had written to Hundai Motors, asking it to put in place a proper fire fighting system and appoint trained personnel to take care of fire fighting operations, he said.

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