The residents of Jaipuria Sunrise Greens, a residential society in Indirapuram, are a worried lot. The fire-fighting system in their complex is in shambles.
The society has 900 flats, and residents complain that Jaipuria Infrastructure Developers Pvt. Ltd (JIDPL), the realtor, has been twiddling its thumbs despite having orders from the fire department.
Residents allege that the sprinklers installed by the builder don't function. Navneet Vij, a member of the society's AOA, added that several fire hoses didn't have nozzles, and those that did malfunctioned. "There have been several incidents, where the fire-fighting equipment malfunctioned," he added.
AOA members said that they had approached the fire department to inspect the fire system. After inspection, officials issued a letter to JIDPL in February 2016. The fire station officer of Vaishali fire station had then ordered the builder to immediately provide all the mandatory fire equipment and also repair the defunct ones.
However, residents complain that nothing changed even after that. They feel the fire department did not initiate concrete action against the builder, and only issued notices.
AOA members recalled a recent incident, where the sprinklers installed in the kitchen failed to work. "Our security guards and residents had to rush with fire extinguishers to put out the flames," they added.
City Spidey took up the matter with Ajay Singh, general manager (services) of JIDPL. He offered a different story. He explained that the sprinklers did not work because the temperature did not reach the designated 68 degrees centigrade. "We have started inspecting the entire fire-fighting system. If we find any faults, it will be rectified immediately," he assured.
When asked about the absence of fire hoses, Singh passed the blame on to the society's security. He said the equipment were stolen from the towers, and JIDPL could not be held responsible for these lapses.
Singh added that there has been trouble over maintenance in the society, which has still not been completely handed over to a residents' association. He continued, "The JIDPL could not handover the charge of the society owing to a rift between two factions of residents, and the matter is still pending in court."
Speaking to City Spidey, Akshay Ranjan Sharma, chief fire officer of Ghaziabad, said he was aware of the issue and that he has already spoken to the fire-station officer about it.
He added, "In this particular case, the maintenance of the society is shared by the builder and the residents' body, and it becomes difficult to hold any one party responsible. We will investigate the matter further, and initiate action against whichever party is chiefly responsible."
