Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those killed in the massive fire that broke out in a restaurant-club in Arpora, North Goa. He said that Rs 50,000 each will be given to those injured in the accident. The death toll in the fire incident remains at 25.
Addressing a press conference here, Chief Minister Sawant said a team of policemen and health officials has been formed to transport the deceased to their homes. The Chief Minister of Goa said that the government will ensure that disciplinary action is taken against the culprit.
Sawant said, “An ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured will be sanctioned from the SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) fund. The government will provide full assistance to transport the deceased to their homes. For this, a dedicated team of SDM, police and health officials has been formed. I have also directed the Chief Secretary and DGP to take disciplinary action.”
The Goa government has constituted a committee comprising the District Magistrate (DM) and other top officials from police, forensics, fire and emergency services. Sawant said that a decision has been taken to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the fire incident. The government has directed that a report on the procedural lapses responsible for this incident be submitted within a week.
Sawant said, “I have called an urgent and high level meeting today with my concerned officials including Chief Secretary, DGP, IGP, Secretary, Revenue Collector, SP North, I discussed about the reasons behind the incident and after detailed discussion I decided to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the procedural lapses through a committee of District Magistrate, SP South, Deputy Director of Fire and Emergency Services, Director of Forensics and submit the report to the government within a week.” The DGP has directed to take strict punitive action against the culprit, including the club owner, manager and those who issued the permission.”
“A committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of the Revenue Secretary to audit such clubs, commercial establishments, etc., which are running without valid permission and where there is a possibility of gathering of a large number of people,” he said. The Goa Chief Minister said the government-appointed committee has prepared a standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent such accidents in future.
A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been prepared by this committee for all such establishments to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future. Sawant further said, “An advisory has been issued by the SDMA for all clubs, restaurants and other business establishments, where footfall is likely to be high, to ensure and ensure operations with valid permissions and adequate safety provisions.”
At least 25 people died in the fire that broke out late Sunday night, four of whom have been identified as tourists and fourteen others as employees. Emergency teams reached the spot and the injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, while officials worked overnight to bring the situation under control. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the fire accident in Arpora, Goa and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of each of the deceased. The injured will be given Rs 50,000 from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
