KOZHIKODE: The minor structural mistakes committed during construction of the KSRTC terminal are delaying the approval of the Fire and Rescue department, according to officials. While the mistakes can be corrected spending less than Rs 5 lakh, apathy of the respective offices has prevented the works, which needs less than a week to be done, from being carried out, it has been pointed out.
While the Fire and Rescue services department has not specified the mistakes, according to assistant divisional officer Arun Bhaskar, the terrace of the terminal was completely closed, making rescue services impossible in case of an emergency. “There are not enough stairs in the basement and many of the hand railings are not high enough. On the top floor, the railings are lower than required, which cannot prevent people from falling from the multi-storeyed terminal,” he said.
The officer added that the sprinkler system, on all the floors, to douse fires was not sufficient and the central portion of the building was open, putting the lives of the visitors at risk. However, Mr Arun added that corrective measures were being carried out and expected to be completed soon. Once the fire and safety regulation systems are on track, there would not be a delay in giving the go-ahead certificate to the terminal, according to officials. According to reports, a high-level meeting on the progress of the works of the terminal would be convened at the office of the transport secretary on November 20.
