The presence of a large number of shops and vendors on the road side had made fire control measure difficult.
This has been a major talking point in the city after a massive fire engulfed the Janata Furniture building of Amit Singhania, located deep inside the city’s busiest commercial hub, Police Bazar.
It is observed that the speedy arrival of fire tenders was a tough task as the market is already quite congested and have narrow lanes coupled with the presence of street vendors.
However, the Meghalaya & Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association rebuffed these observations and said the blame is uncalled for as its members trading in the Khyndai Lad area did not obstruct the road and did their best to assist and lend helping hands to the victims while risking their own lives.
“The association takes strong exception to the negative comments of a few vested interested parties trying to insinuate and blame the street vendors and hawkers for the delay of fire trucks to reach the fire site,” said General Secretary of the association Shane Thabah in a statement today.
While expressing their grief and sorrow at the unfortunate incident and the loss of life, Thabah said that local authorities and welfare society must introspect and critically examine the safety issues with the emergence of high-rise buildings in the area.
“What is needed now is to immediately constitute an independent body to study and conduct a safety audit of all buildings in the area, including all business and residential areas in the city,” he added.
The association said it believes that Shillong is being destroyed by capital greed and unscrupulous planning, which flout every norm at every level of civic administration.
Referring to the fire incidents of a Church in Qualapaty that claimed two lives four years ago and the KJP Girls Higher Secondary School, the association said the fire fighters were helpless as they were unable to navigate their trucks through the narrow lanes.
It also expressed its willingness to work alongside the district administration to build a safe and equitable Shillong.
