Meerut shopping mall flouted building norms

MEERUT: The posh shopping mall in the city, which was devastated by a raging inferno on Monday, had been given safety clearance by local fire authorities despite several illegal extensions in the complex violating the initial construction plan, a top official said on Tuesday.

Civic authorities had ordered demolition of the illegal extensions inside the PVS Mall as early as September last year but its owners had managed to get a stay from the Allahabad High Court.

"The mall owners were issued a show cause notice by the district administration since there was deviation from the initial plan in the construction of the building," Meerut Divisional Commissioner Dev Dutt said.

He said authorities had issued fire safety notices to all constructions in the Meerut circle in the wake of the Victoria Park fire in April which claimed several lives and the Chief Fire Officer has certified the fire safety measures taken by the mall owners.

A major fire broke out at the PVS Mall in Shastri Nagar area of the town last night due to suspected short circuit but there was no casualty.

One portion of the three-storey building which has a super market was damaged almost completely while the other side that houses multiplex has no major damages.

"A major tragedy was averted due the timely action by the civic authorities as the basement of the mall, where the fire broke out, also stored a 300 KV power generator and petrol and diesel tanks," Dutt said.

Additional District Magistrate has been asked to conduct an inquiry and he will be assisted by Superintendent Engineers PWD and Power.

Dutt said 30-40 per cent of the shopping mall had suffered severe damage and the total economic loss caused due to the fire was being ascertained.

Inquiry into the incident will also ascertain whether adequate fire-fighting arrangements were made at the time of construction of the mall.

He said no case has been lodged against Ashok Goyal and N C Agarwal, the owners of the mall and legal proceedings would take place after the inquiry.

Dutt said the civic authorities will also approach the High Court to remove the stay on the demolition and take "necessary action against the illegal construction."

Earlier, District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram said "any authority found guilty of giving approval to the building without proper checking will face the music."

The mall housed a number of restaurants serving fast food and Chinese and Indian cuisine which used LPG cylinders. It also had a super market, a cosmetic shop and theatres.

The fire, which broke out at around 7.15 PM, was initially brought under control by fire tenders from Meerut but it suddenly erupted again and spread to the first floor of the mega mall.

Jawans of Army, CRPF, PAC and RAF assisted the fire fighters in controlling the blaze which led to the explosion of LPG cylinders used in restaurants inside the mall. The army's help was sought to douse the fire as chemicals were said to be present in the building.

This is the second fire in four months in Meerut as an electronic goods exhibition at Victoria Park on April 10 this year had taken a toll of 64 people.