Bhubaneswar, Nov 4: Related to the devastating mishap occurred at the SUM Hospital, the Odisha government has made a decision to strengthen fire safety measures in all technical education institutes and skill development centres here.
A letter had been written to the Vice Chancellors of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) and Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Director, Technical Education & Training, Director, Employment & State Employment Mission, Director, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT) and Vice Chairman, State Council for Technical Education & Vocational Training (SCTE&VT) on October 31 this year in which the commissioner-cum-secretary of Skill Development & Technical Education, Sanjay Kumar Singh, said that although there are specific guidelines for implementation of fire safety measures in all educational institutions including engineering colleges, polytechnics and it is this is not being followed meticulously here in various situations.
The old fire-fighting instruments installed at some places have not been updated and the fire extinguishers are not refilled on time. Hence, it is requested that an institution-wise analysis of fire safety measures taken by all such technical institutions may be made and a full-proof fire safety measures must be ensured in all the educational and skill training institutions to avoid any untoward incident in future.
Technical Education minister Sanjay Dasburma informed the media that the institutional authorities should ensure that the existing fire-fighting systems are in working order and also take necessary steps to make the dysfunctional systems operational. On asking about the directive of the state government, Binod Das, secretary of Odisha Private Engineering College Association (OPECA) said that the association has welcomed the decision and concern of the state government in this regard. He further went on to say that all after receiving the letter from the Skill Development and Technical Education department, the institute whose fire safety certificate has expired in the meanwhile, can get it renewed immediately.
A BPUT student said the authorities of all colleges and universities should strictly abide by the directive of the state government for the safety of the students and there should be a seminar held on fire safety in all technical institutes.
