Rajouri, Mar 11: The Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H) Rajouri is without a permanent fire safety mechanism.
The GMC&H Rajouri, which was earlier District Hospital Rajouri, is a 300-bedded hospital having a five-storey main building and other additional and peripheral buildings like blood bank complex and radiology unit.
The hospital caters to the healthcare needs of not only the Rajouri district but also patients from Poonch and Reasi.
According to official sources, there is no permanent fire safety mechanism in place at the hospital, putting the lives of thousands of people at stake.
They said that during the construction of this building, the construction agency Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) did not pay attention to SOPs of fire safety and violated most of the safety norms.
“There is no central water-based fire extinguisher system while other basic fire-fighting measures like water pipeline, fire alarm system, and fire sensors are also not there in this vital hospital,” the official sources said.
They said that the Health and Medical Education Department as well as the hospital administration thrice took up the matter with the J&K government but nothing had been done so far.
The residents of Rajouri said that the absence of a proper and permanent fire safety mechanism in the hospital was a grave concern as any incident of fire breakout could cause havoc, resulting in major loss of lives.
Rahul Sharma and social activist Umar Malik said that the delay in setting up a proper fire safety mechanism in this hospital exposes the failure of the concerned quarters.
They said that the fire and emergency services in Rajouri was also not fully equipped to deal with major fire incidents as the fire station in Rajouri was having only normal fire tenders and that in some major fire incidents in the past it had been seen that the services of fire tenders of the Army were utilised.
Administrative Officer of GMC Rajouri, Mohinder Paul said that the new building of the medical college was being constructed at Maira and had an advanced and fully established fire safety mechanism and all SOPs had been followed.
However, he said that the college was presently functioning from the building of the associated hospital of the college, and the Medical Superintendent of the hospital looks after matters like fire safety mechanisms in the building.
Medical Superintendent of GMC&H, DrMehmoodBajar said that the hospital building was constructed years ago.
“There is no inbuilt fire fighting and safety mechanism in the hospital but temporary arrangements have been made by the hospital administration,” he said.
DrBajar said that an audit in this matter was conducted after which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared and submitted to the government by the Mechanical Engineering Department for further sanction.
He said that all basic and advanced fire safety measures would be put in place for controlling fire through water pipelines, fire sensors, and fire alarms.