Bhubaneswar: Despite the recent tragedy in Surat where more than 20 students were killed in a fire, coaching centres in the Capital city have blown hot and cold in taking precautionary measures against any such calamity.
There are more than 100 coaching centres in the Capital city that cater to more than 1,000 students on a daily basis. These centres provide academic assistance to students ranging from Class V to civil services aspirants.
“One of the main reasons of a fire tragedy is usage of sub-standard wiring. Cheap wires catch fire quickly when burdened with heavy electric load. These days coaching centres put up more air conditioners (ACs). Heavy unit ACs combined with cheap wires can be one of the prime reasons for fire to break out,” explained Biswas Kumar Rout a former Fire Inspector here.
Orissa POST observed that these institutes are often run in private or rented buildings with sub-standard fire safety measures. Though some have fire extinguishers installed, neither the students nor the staff have been trained to use them.
Fire safety in India often leads to devastating tragedies. To understand the magnitude of the negligence, sample this: According to Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India about 17,700 have died due to accidental fire, an average of 48 deaths a day.
To illustrate the point further, Bijay Kumar Sharma, Director General Fire, who conducted surprise raid on coaching centres here and in Cuttack, showed the haphazard wirings in a coaching centre and the congested walking space. Moreover most of the coaching centres do not have adequate exit signages to lead the occupants to places of safety. “In case of an emergency panic triggers and in places as clogged as these, the trapped victim will most likely try to find an alternative to flee which creates havoc and chaos,” Rout added.
Conducted in 23 prominent coaching institutes in the twin city 15 of them in Bhubaneswar and 8 in Cuttack were told to adopt Fire Prevention and Fire Safety measures.
The institutes in Cuttack were IBT institute, Vanik Banking Institute, Arohan Institute, Torque Classes, Aakash Institute, I Books, Arihant, FIIT JEE and Chanakya. In Bhubaneswar the institutes that were under the scanner are Aakash Institute, Samal Classes, Allen, Mahindra, Education Asia, Adyant, FIIT JEE, Narayan School, Bajirao Academy, Navodaya, Vanik and Vinayak Classes.
Maheswar Swain, Chief Fire Officer, Fire Prevention Wing said, “We have formed 22 teams for inspection. On priority-basis, we are looking at the coaching centres that are attended by a large number of students. Earlier, we have conducted evacuation, mock drill and awareness programmes at various educational institutions. After the Surat tragedy, we are mainly focusing on coaching centres now.”
However, Ajit Biswal, Managing Director (MD), of AB Medical Academy said that their centre is well ventilated and have quality electrical wiring. “Besides, we run batches of 20 students each in 2-3 shifts so it is not so much of a rush and the institute is managed efficiently,” he added.
Running a batch of about 500-600 students, Tony Jon, Managing Director of ALS IAS institute said that they have installed 14-15 fire extinguishers that are regularly inspected. “We are preparing to give mock drills to the students that will help them prepare for any untoward situation as the one in Surat.”
Meanwhile, the teams that conducted inspection in coaching centres today also taught basic techniques for safe evacuation to the youngsters with just a handkerchief and water bottle. “We were taught how to use fire extinguishers in order to put out small blaze and how to remain calm under such situation,” said Depaansh Panigrahi a student at Aakash Institute
“With an increase in competition, the demand for tuitions and coaching centres has risen significantly. With the Capital city slowly becoming an education hub, it is imperative for the safety of the children that these coaching centres must take extra precautions to avoid fire mishaps,” Rout suggested.