Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
In a fresh blow to Abhishek Banerjee, the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Directorate has ordered the immediate evacuation of the basement and the sixth and seventh floors of a commercial building on Camac Street in central Kolkata, where the Trinamool Congress national general secretary’s office is located, citing non-compliance with mandatory fire safety measures.
The development came a day after Banerjee’s Camac Street office was ransacked, with the TMC accusing BJP-linked men of carrying out the attack, a charge the ruling party denied.
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In two separate orders dated September 4, the fire department directed the occupants and owner of the premises at 9 – Abanindranath Tagore Sarani (Camac Street), Kolkata – to vacate the areas under scanner and stop using them until the prescribed safety measures are implemented and a valid Renewal of Fire Safety Certificate (RFSC) is obtained.
The first order, addressed to the owner of the 6th and 7th floors, followed a hearing on alleged fire safety violations.
The department said a notice had earlier been issued, but the owner did not appear at the hearing. Representatives of the occupant, however, attended and submitted a copy of the lease deed along with their views.
According to the order, the lease deed indicated that the responsibility for implementing and installing the required fire safety measures and obtaining the Fire Safety Certificate rested with the occupant.
However, the department cited Section 11C of the West Bengal Fire Services Act, 1950, to state that the ultimate responsibility for obtaining the certificate after complying with the fire safety recommendations lies with the owner.
The fire department further noted that the RFSC for the two basements, ground floor and the 7-storey business building had been issued on August 10, 2023, and was valid for three years.
The certificate, according to the order, had expired, despite a recommendation to renew it before expiry.
The second order concerns the basement areas of the same building and was addressed to Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, constituted attorney of Rama Devi Goenka and MS Piramo Investors Ltd, identified as the owner.
The department said the owner had also failed to appear for the hearing despite being served a notice.
Both orders cited the non-maintenance and inadequacy of required fire safety measures and concluded that the affected portions of the building posed an “imminent threat” to the safety of life and property.
The department consequently directed that the premises be vacated immediately and not used until compliance is completed and the RFSC is secured.
The orders have come just a day after Abhishek Banerjee alleged that armed BJP workers stormed and vandalised his Camac Street office in Kolkata, damaging electronic equipment.
He accused the police of failing to respond for nearly two hours despite repeated calls and emails.
Banerjee demanded the attackers’ immediate arrest, a probe into those who planned the alleged assault, and accountability for police inaction.
Kolkata Police later inspected the premises, collected CCTV footage and detained six people for questioning.
Earlier, in a separate confrontation at the Camac Street premises involving Kolkata Police, Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials and TMC supporters during the removal of an allegedly unauthorised billboard bearing party signage.
The episode has since triggered a political and legal confrontation, with Banerjee alleging political vendetta and the TMC approaching the Calcutta High Court.
The fire department’s latest action is, however, specifically based on fire safety compliance and the status of the building’s certification.
Copies of both orders have been sent to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Shakespeare Sarani Police Station and CESC for necessary action.
The premises will remain under restrictions until the required safety deficiencies are addressed and the renewal certificate is obtained.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
