Delhi fire tragedy: Smaller fire tenders could have saved more lives, says BJP's RP Singh

BJP leader RP Singh on Sunday expressed his grief over the Anaj Mandi fire incident in which 43 people have lost their lives and said that lives could have been saved if there were small fire tenders.

"According to my information that I have received so far, 43 people have lost their lives and around 56 are injured which is very painful. The place where the fire incident took place had narrow lanes and if there were small fire tenders, they could have reached the spot much earlier saving many lives," Singh told ANI.

He said that there are many places in old Delhi which are densely populated and have narrow lanes. The Delhi government should come out with a plan to decongest these places and induct smaller fire tenders, he said.

He further pointed out previous fire incidents in Delhi and said, "Just a few days back incident of fire took place in Karol Bagh and Jamia. The action should not just be limited to the investigation but also to prevent such incidents from happening in future."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the families of deceased in the fire which took place in Anaj Mandi at Rani Jhansi Road in the wee hours on Sunday.

Around 62 people were rescued from the building that caught fire in the wee hours on Sunday of which 43 have been declared dead.

34 have been confirmed dead in Lok Nayak Hospital, and 9 in Lady Hardinge Hospital.

Soon after receiving the report, 15 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire and to carry out rescue operations. Given the intensity of the fire, 10-12 more fire tenders had to be sent at the spot.

The fire has been completely doused by the fire brigade team and all the persons have been rescued from the site.