‘Cancel erring shops’ licences’

Kozhikode: Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson has asked the Kozhikode Corporation to reconsider the licences given to all shops in SM Street that do not comply with the fire safety norms.  Such shops were operating with the connivance of officials, he  said  and added that  if the corporation failed to check them, the district collector should act and make the shop owners comply with the existing rules.

“The district collectors can enforce the rule. They have immense power under the Disaster Management Act. All the shops should have fire fighting measures and this is an issue that needs emergency attention from the authorities,”  Mr Jiji Thomson told the media  after paying a visit to the fire accident spot.

He said the mystery behind the fire  could only be unravelled by the probe which was underway. “We are expecting a report within a month,”  he  said. When the mediapersons asked him about the  suspicious circumstances behind the ‘accident,’  he  said he himself had asked several such questions  when he visited the spot.

Earlier,  minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali and CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had also visited the  spot and held discussions with the traders. Mr Kodiyeri also demanded a high-level investigation into the fire.