Despite red flags, chinks in fire safety at coaching institutes

Reality check finds many running with only one entry/exit point, putting lives of students at risk; chief fire officer seeks cancellation of licences

- Aakash Ghosh

LUCKNOW: At least 17 coaching institutes in Lucknow continue to operate with inadequate fire safety arrangements, putting lives of students at risk, despite several notices issued to them in this regard and the chief fire officer (CFO) seeking cancellation of their licences for violation of norms, revealed an audit report released by the fire department.

On Tuesday, HT did a reality check of a few prominent institutes in the city's coaching hub, Aliganj, and found that majority of them were running with single entry/exit in buildings where thousands of students, in separate batches, come to prepare for JEE, UPSC, and other competitive/entrance exams.

The team first visited Gravity Coaching Centre in Kapoorthala, where over 500 students attend classes in different batches of NEET-UG, IIT-JEE and other courses. The institute on the third floor of Ved Plaza had only one entry and exit point at the rear side of the building with a shopping mall on the front side.

The lift in the building was also found to be non-functional, leaving only one exit in case of a fire tragedy. However, some fire fighting equipment were found, including fire sand, and hose pipe.