Delhi Rajkot Fires Claim Young Lives, Parents Demand Justice: Whom Do We Blame?

The nation is reeling over the devastating fire tragedies that took place over the weekend claiming the lives of 40 people including 16 children succumbing to death in two separate fire tragedies. As the nation grieves over the horrific incidents, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences and ex gratia to the kin of the deceased and the injured victims in the incidents separately. 

The state governments ordered a thorough investigation and rightful punishments to the culprits of the horrific tragedies, though both fire incidents are reported to have been "man-made tragedies". Seven newborns were killed in Delhi's children's clinic while 33 were killed including nine children under 16 in Rajkot's TRP Game Zone.

Rajkot TRP Game Zone Fire Leaves 33 Dead

A massive fire broke out in Gujarat's Rajkot on May 24 claiming the lives of 33 people including nine children under the age of 16 at the TRP Game Zone on the outskirts of the city. 

Special Investigation Team members (SIT) met with the local administration in Gujarat’s Rajkot city to take stock of the situation. The bodies were charred beyond recognition. The DNA samples of the bodies and the victim’s relatives have been collected for identification of the deceased, they said.

The incident occurred around 4:30 pm on Friday when many families and young children were enjoying the weekend. Authorities received a call that a massive fire ripped through the gaming zone collapsing a temporary structure that trapped patrons and many employees inside. 

It took 2 hours to control the fire and the rescue team has so far recovered 33 dead bodies from the debris of the massive fire. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, police have made two arrests, owner Yuvraj Solanki and manager Nitin Jain while six other partners have been charged under relevant sections of IPC. 

Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendrabhai Patel has announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakhs for the closest kin of the deceased in the tragedy and Rs 50 thousand to those injured and requested authorities to take swift action. Many other political figures like PM Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, and others expressed their condolences.

East Delhi Hospital Fire Claims Seven Newborns

Hardly a day and a half later to the Rajkot fire tragedy, another horrid fire broke out in East Delhi's Baby Care New Born Hospital in Vivek Vihar on May 25 late at night around 11:32 pm claiming the lives of seven newborn children in the devastating tragedy.

The blaze is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit in the building while the firefighters saved as many as 12 newborns from the building, one baby was rescued dead while six other infants were pronounced dead in the hospital. 

The owner of the children's hospital Naveen Kichi who was on the run was arrested on Sunday and booked under relevant sections of IPC, while police investigation revealed the building's NOC expired this year in March and the incident took place out of sheer negligence of maintenance.

The clinic was also reported to have a permit of five beds but more than 10 beds were being used. The building did not even have a fire exit system and the hospital was running with an expired licence.

One of the grieving parents alleged that every official visiting the hospital after the incident is “tightlipped”.

“They have no answer if the hospital was legal. If the hospital was having any no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department,” said Ritik, who lost his 10-day-old child, as quoted by Press Trust of India.

Another parent, a labourer, questioned. “I lost my son five years ago. On Saturday, my newborn son died. What kind of facilities do they have?” he questioned.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced stringent actions against the culprits as the investigation is underway while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced ex gratia of Rs 2 Lakhs to the closest kin of the deceased while Rs 50 thousand to those injured in the disturbing incident from the PM National Relief Funds.

These tragedies highlight the urgent need for stricter fire safety regulations and regular inspections of public buildings, particularly those catering to children from school, daycares, game zones, to hospitals.