Fire safety blind spots raise alarm bells in the heart of Lucknow

Yet, amidst these corridors of power, there is another reality hidden in plain sight. Coaching institutes packed in commercial buildings, restaurants operating in basements, hotels hidden inside narrow lanes and markets packed with shoppers are dealing with fire-safety concerns. An HT ground report in Hazratganj, covering several areas from Point Zero (GPO) and its surrounding areas, found multiple instances of blocked exits, single-entry buildings, congested access roads and establishments operating in locations where evacuation could prove challenging during an emergency. If such vulnerabilities exist in the state’s most visited administrative centre, a troubling question arises: What might be the state of fire safety in the rest of the city?

Naval Kishore Marg: Coaching, Shopping Center (less than 1 km from Point Zero)

a potential fire trap

Naval Kishore Marg, spanning a distance of less than a kilometre, is one of the busiest coaching and shopping hubs of Lucknow. But behind the hustle and bustle lies a potential fire trap. At the center is the Prince Complex, home to the huge Prince Market. More than 100 textile shops operate on its basement and ground floors, while coaching institutes operate on the upper levels. Four years after a fire broke out in the building, a massive rescue operation was carried out, which involved about 30 students, but it appears that there has been no change. Although the fire fighting system was installed after the incident, it was found to be inoperative during HT’s visit. Shops operate in cramped basements while hundreds of students attend classes upstairs. Mirza Tower and KB Plaza, just 50 meters away, present an equally dangerous picture. Although separate structures above ground, their basements merge into a single market. Next is Love Lane, which has over 100 textile shops, eateries and offices with a single entry and exit point. The absence of fire safety equipment was evident, while tangled electrical wires hung throughout the premises, posing a fire risk. There is a coaching institute on the first floor of Mirza Tower and a girls’ hostel on the upper floor. Next door, the basement of KB Plaza houses a Momo outlet with an operational kitchen, while a library functions on the first floor and a family lives on the top floor – creating a mix of commercial, educational and residential occupancies within the same structure.

Narhi: Residential neighborhood and commercial center (500 meters from Point Zero)

Maze of lodges, hostels, budget hotels

As the HT team reached the narrow, bustling streets of Narhi – an area that has gradually transformed from a residential neighborhood into a dense commercial hub – it found a maze of lodges, hostels and budget hotels operating out of converted houses. Many of these two and three-storey buildings are located in streets so narrow that even two-wheelers have difficulty passing each other, leaving no chance for fire tenders to reach the spot during an emergency. One such establishment, a hotel, was found to be operating with a staircase barely four feet wide as the only means of access to the upper floors. There were no separate emergency exits or visible fire-safety infrastructure. A similar situation prevails in many nearby lodges and hostels, where hundreds of guests, students and working professionals stay. HT also found that many libraries are functioning in the basement of the building, raising concerns about evacuation in case of fire. The combination of congested access roads, mixed land use and inadequate escape routes paints a worrying picture in one of the city’s busiest areas.

Indira Bhawan: Government Office (1.9 km from Point Zero)

Gutkha wrappers instead of sand in fire bucket

Indira Bhavan houses many government offices and sees regular movement of officials and visitors. During ground investigation inside the building, HT found that fire buckets were missing from almost every floor. At many places, only metal stands for buckets existed. On some floors where three buckets were supposed to be installed, only one bucket was found. As per standard practice, these buckets should be filled with sand for emergency use. However, on the fourth and fifth floors, HT found that the only bucket kept on a three-bucket stand was filled with gutkha wrappers and spit residue instead of sand. On several other floors, fire safety equipment that should have been readily available was found pushed to extreme corners and covered with waste materials. In an emergency situation, such equipment may prove difficult to locate and use. A similar situation was seen at Jawahar Bhawan adjacent to Indira Bhawan, where fire safety equipment was either inaccessible or poorly maintained.

Shri Ram Tower: Gadget Hub (800 meters from Point Zero)

Extinguishing of fire extinguishers beyond their use-by date

Next visit was to Shri Ram Tower, known as one of the city’s major hubs for mobile phone sales and repair businesses. The six-storey building, including the ground floor, also has a basement and houses dozens of shops dealing in electronic goods and repair work. During the visit, many fire extinguishers were found to have exceeded their validity period, while the expiry stickers on many others were torn or unreadable. Fire hose nozzles were found entangled in electrical wires, raising concerns over their usefulness during an emergency.

HT also found that overhead sprinkler systems in several parts of the building were covered with hanging wires. In some places, the sprinkler heads themselves were blocked, which could have affected the distribution of water in the event of a fire.

The building has several galleries and shop clusters on each floor. However, sprinkler pipelines appeared to cover only limited sections, leaving large parts of the campus without visible sprinkler coverage.

Although the building has multiple entry and exit points, many passageways are narrow and congested, which may hinder evacuation during an emergency.

Burlington Square: Basement Shops (1.1 km from Point Zero)

No sprinklers in the basement

At a commercial complex near Burlington Crossing, HT found additional deficiencies. The complex has a basement where several shops were operating. However, no fire extinguisher or fire extinguisher was found in the basement during inspection.

Electrical wires were also found attached to wooden structures and partitions, increasing the risk in case of a short circuit. On the first floor, where there are about 15 shops, only one fire extinguisher was found. The fire hose pipelines installed near the stairs also appeared inadequate, with the length appearing to be insufficient to reach the outlets located at the far end of the floor.

Naka Hindola: Electronics Hub (2.5 km from Point Zero) No place for fire tenders

The visit also covered the densely populated Naka area, known for its concentration of electrical goods markets, hotels and banquet halls. The area is characterized by narrow streets and overcrowded construction, leaving little space for fire tenders and emergency vehicles. Many establishments, including basement-run shops, hotels and banquet halls, were found to have little or no visible fire safety infrastructure. Many buildings stand wall to wall with virtually no distinction between the structures. Such construction patterns greatly increase the risk of fire spreading rapidly from one property to another.

During inspection, several establishments were found to be operating with expired fire extinguishers, while others were found to have no fire extinguishers at all.

The findings raise concerns about fire safety compliance in some of the city’s busiest and most important buildings, many of which are located close to Lucknow’s administrative centre.

Aminabad Bazaar (about 2 km from Point Zero)

no lessons learned

In Aminabad, a market is running in a basement, in which there is hardly any space left even for walking. Despite the Garbar Jhala fire in 2023, no lesson was learned. Due to narrow streets and traffic, the fire department has kept a fire tender on standby near Jhandewala Park, but it may be of little help in case of a major fire.