20211119 Fire engulfs 13 shops, damages two wings of Golf City apartment
India Nov 19 2021 “Apartment houses” “Building” “Complex bldg.” “Stores”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire engulfs 13 shops, damages two wings of Golf City apartment
Updated: 2021-11-19
Noida: A major fire broke out at a shop on the ground floor of the Gardenia Golf City apartment complex in Sector 75 on Thursday morning leaving at least 13 shops completely gutted while damaging a major part of two towers of the housing society.
While nobody was injured in the blaze, residents have blamed unregulated commercial activity within the apartment complex for the mishap that has affected more than two dozen families. Residents also said that no firefighting equipment was available within the housing complex and have approached the developer for compensation for their damages.
Ritu Maheshwari, the chief executive officer of Noida Authority, said that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident. “We will check how many shops and commercial structures had been sanctioned for the said project. Also, we will see if firefighting measures had been implemented. Further action will be taken after the conclusion of the inquiry,” Maheshwari told TOI.
The Noida Authority had allocated about 150 acres to AIMS MAX Gardenia Developers Pvt Ltd in January 2011 and the Golf City apartment complex was built on the land in four phases. Malook Nagar, the BSP MP from Bijnaur, is one of the promoters of the real estate company.
Thursday’s blaze, meanwhile, has sparked off a bigger debate with apartment owners appealing to the Noida Authority to regulate the haphazard construction activity. President of Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations, Rajiva Singh said, “As the developer was yet to hand over the society to the apartment owners’ associations (AOAs), the onus of the fire mishap is on the developer. However, there are dozens of apartment complexes with active AOAs that have commercial structures on the ground floor. Who will provide the cost of damages if such an incident takes place within such societies?”
As the first step, the AOAs have decided to urge the Noida Authority to share the list of shops and commercial structures that have been sanctioned within the apartment complexes. “Once we all are aware about the number of shops or kiosks that have been approved, it will be easy to fix responsibilities,” Rajesh Sahay, the general secretary of the association, said. Sahay has also urged all the group housing societies to share information about the commercial activities on their premises.
Meanwhile, Golf City residents, who suffered damages in the blaze, said no firefighting equipment was available. Rooplal and Ankaj, a couple from Punjab who lives in a rented flat in Block I, said around 3.30 am they had suddenly started feeling hot inside the room. “Once I opened my eyes, I saw our room was filled with smoke. It had become difficult to breathe and so we rushed outside to realise that our wing was on fire. All the whitegoods and inflammable items stored on the balcony and kitchen was damaged. We saw people bringing buckets of water and using pipes to douse the flames. But no firefighting equipment was used,” Ankaj said. Block I and J of the apartment suffered major damages as the blaze as the fire had swiftly spread on the upper floors.
Another resident of the same block, Shadab Khan said, “Flames had surrounded our balcony and the front portion of the flat. Thankfully, we were able to lock up all the windows and balcony doors before escaping safely.”
Abhishek Upadhay, also a resident of Golf City, claimed that only five to six shops had been approved in the complex but at least 18 shops and several kiosks were operating from the complex of which 13 were gutted in the fire.
Staff members and facility manager of AIMS Max Gardenia, the promoter of the project, meanwhile, claimed that the inventory of the items that had been damaged was being finalised and residents will be compensated. The developer, they said, had deployed labourers to clear the debris and paint the soot-covered walls of Block I and J that suffered the maximum damage.
The general manager of the group, who also looks after the facility, without wishing to be identified, said, “The shops that were operating in the complex are approved ones and no illegal activity was being carried out. We have noted down the details of the damages that the blaze has caused.”
Web Source: The Times of India