Telangana govt forms 6-member team to probe gulzar houz fire - the statesman

The Telangana government on Tuesday formed a six-member high-level committee to probe the deadly fire incident near Gulzar Houz in the Old City area of Hyderabad, which claimed 17 lives,

including eight children. Transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who is in charge of the city, announced the formation of the committee comprising senior officials after family members of the

victims complained of ill-equipped ambulances and fire tenders. Advertisement The committee comprises GHMC commissioner R V Karnan, Hyderabad collector Anudeep Durishetty, police

commissioner CV Anand, DG (fire services) Y Nagireddy, commissioner of Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency AV Ranganath and CMD of Telangana Southern Power Distribution

Company Limited, Musharraf Farruqui. Advertisement The committee will conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the cause of the devastating fire and assess the measures taken by different

departments and then prepare the final report, which will be submitted to the chief minister. The committee will also make recommendations to prevent such incidents in the future. Chief

minister A Revanth Reddy and deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will hold a review meeting with the senior officials based on the inquiry report. Although family members alleged

there was a lack of equipment and oxygen masks in fire tenders and ambulances that reached the accident site, the authorities have denied the allegations. Director of public health said the

first patient was shifted from the accident site to Osmania Hospital at 6:25 am. The ambulance crew had reached the site within 8 minutes, said officials. A total of eight ambulances were

dispatched and each one had oxygen support. Health officials also conducted surprise checks on these ambulances. On the other hand, fire services have blamed the lack of access to the

building, which had only one narrow staircase. Access to the staircase was difficult because of the two-wheelers kept there, which also caught fire. The fire started near the staircase and

this made it difficult for the victims to come out. The terrace was also found locked. Advertisement