Hyderabad: Prasad cinema's IMAX screens unsafe

Hyderabad: An Uphaar like tragedy is waiting on its wings to take place in Hyderabad as one of the popular cinema halls in the city is openly flouting safety norms framed by the government and the Supreme Court. 

Prasad cinema’s large screen theatre on Necklace Road has one of the biggest IMAX screens with a seating capacity for 600 persons.

The facility does not have gangways, horizontal and vertical wide pathways to lead a movie watcher to his designated seat. At Prasad cinema’s large screen, movie goers have to enter by either of the two sides with no separate gangway in the centre. 

This is a violation of the Andhra Pradesh Cinemas Regulation Act, 1955, under which a theatre must have at least a 2-feet wide vertical gangway between every 10 seats with a direct access to the pathway. 

A virtual tour of the seating arrangement at Prasad’s Large screen shows that the entire hall is jam packed with vertical pathways only at side. In case of an untoward incident, it leaves little room for a movie watcher to escape.

In its verdict in 2015, the Supreme Court had released guidelines for theatres regarding gangways. The order came after 59 persons died due to a stampede and asphyxiation as seats blocked the exit routes in a cinema hall.

The judgment had also asked theatres to screen a film, showing the exit routes and the protocol to be followed when a fire breaks out. However, this norm is not complied with.

A formal complaint was lodged in 2016 by a citizen with the commissioner of police, citing dangers to personal safety. Vijay Gopal, who lodged the complaint, alleged that the FIR was not filed by the police.

“The commissioner gives the no objection certificate (NoC). Since the police failed to file an FIR, I approached the State Human Rights Commission which handed over the case to the DGP,” Vijay Gopal said. The matter will be taken up for hearing on September 11. 

An official attached with the theatre said that the facility is well equipped with fire standards and had centralised automated sprinklers to bring under control a conflagration.