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Playfulness and flirting are all cool but nothing really comes close to things getting serious. That is when we realise that all our efforts have been meaningful.
Operating along those very lines, the Mohali authorities are now serious-as-hellfire, warning that buildings without fire safety approvals will be sealed if they fail to comply by November 30, 2021.
The Backstory
The Mohali Municipal Corporation had issued 644 fire NOCs in 2017, while also dishing out 320 notices in 2018 and 98 in 2019 to defaulting entities.
2020 was a year when inspections and evaluation processes did not take place but since the lockdowns have ended, the alert folks at the Fire NOC department have sent out 164 notices asking establishments to become fire safety compliant.
Facing The Heat
While Fire NOC is mandatory for a property under the Punjab Municipal Act, it has been found that many buildings are in open violation of safety norms.
Recent fires have raised questions on the way the department functions because despite receiving fire NOCs, many establishments have not installed or maintained fire safety equipment as required. Also, violators have not been pulled up or fined.
🎙 Authorities have woken up though and Municipal Commissioner Kamal Kumar Garg minced no words when he said to the press, "those who will not attain fire NOC by November 30 will face sealing."