'Ensure fire safety during Hyderabad's Numaish': HC asks state to submit action plan

Keeping in mind the major fire accident that broke out earlier this year, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed Hyderabad's District Collector and Fire Safety Officer to draw an action plan for the upcoming Numaish exhibition by November 12. Numaish is an annual exhibition held in Hyderabad and is expected to begin in January 2020. When the exhibition was held in January this year, a major fire broke out as thousands were present at the venue and it quickly spread, gutting several stalls. Fortunately, no casualties were reported. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy were hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate, which asked the court to issue directions to the President of the Exhibition Society in Nampally — the organisers of Numaish, as steps had not been taken to prevent another fire. The advocate also demanded action against organisers of the event, for not obtaining a no objection certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department, as mandated under the Telangana Fire Services Act, 1999.    After hearing the petitioner's case, the bench ordered the state government officials to submit a detailed action plan on all the safety precautions that will be taken, to ensure that no untoward incident like a fire or stampede takes place. The case will come up again on November 12 for further hearing. During the incident in January this year, though there were no casualties, the fire destroyed close to 300 stalls damaging goods worth crores of rupees, according to officials. The All India Industrial Exhibition, known more commonly as Numaish, is an annual event that has been held in Hyderabad for the last 80 years. It began in 1938, during the era of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. It began as an attempt to promote locally made goods, and the event, which went on for 10 days, was inaugurated at the Public Gardens in the city.  While it began with just a few stalls, Numaish has grown with each passing year. In 2018, more than 2,000 stalls were set up.