The owner of the Mundka building in outer west Delhi, where a massive fire broke out on May 13 leaving at least 27 dead and 29 missing, has been arrested, there are still many questions that remain unanswered – some due to government neglect and some alleged cover-up.
Labour unions have demanded the resignation of Delhi CM, Labour Minister Manish Sisodia and MCD mayor accusing them of constant negligence.
The government does not heed to the dangerous working and living conditions of workers despite the sweltering temperatures touching 49 degree Celsius this summer, said Workers Unity Centre, India (WUCI), a workers’ union advocating for stringent actions and adequate compensation to the victims.
AAP and BJP engage in blame game
There is no data of the last safety audit and neither any safety audit has been carried out in wake of the accident. The BJP and AAP are indulging in blame games while shrugging off responsibility, as per WUCI.
The MLA for Mundka constituency is Dharampal Lakra from AAP. The area’s member of legislative council (MLC) is Anil Lakra.
The building owner Manish Lakra, however, is said to be linked with BJP as he can be seen driving the car of former North Delhi Mayor and BJP leader Master Azad Singh, as per a picture tweeted by AAP leader Durgesh Singh.
But beyond trading charges, shouldn’t anyone from either the Centre or Delhi government or MCD take accountability, assert labour unions.
मुंडका की जिस ईमारत में आग लगी वो मनीष लाकड़ा जी की बिल्डिंग है
मनीष लाकड़ा जी MCD के पूर्व मेयर मास्टर आज़ाद जी की गाड़ी ड्राइव कर हैं ।
मनीष लाकड़ा जी भाजपा के सहयोग से ही मुंडका में गैरकानूनी तरीके से फैक्ट्री चला रहे थे।
सभी मौतों के लिए भाजपा सीधे तौर पर जिम्मेदार है। pic.twitter.com/jYz93XW1xf
— Durgesh Pathak (@ipathak25) May 15, 2022
Many workers unaccounted for
With around 250 workers and other people present in the meeting, apart from those dead or missing or rescued, still over a hundred people remain unaccounted for.
Munna Prasad of Inquilabi Majdoor Kendra, a labour union at the forefront of the mobilisation for meeting workers demands, said that the deceased and those with minor injuries were taken to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri.
Those with serious burns were, however, not taken to the Mangolpuri hospital as it doesn’t have a burn ward.
Police are not letting out the information about those seriously injured and where they have been admitted, he said.
Many workers like Vagan Ram, who fell, lost consciousness and couldn’t arrive at the hospital for treatment on the day of the incident have no proof of being present there as they say the attendance registers have burnt.
A college-going 18-year-old Moni Kumari says her sister Pooja, 21, used to work at the company. They couldn’t identify her among the unidentified charred corpses. They haven’t found her yet.
She is running from pillar to post to find her sister, if not, at least the confirmation of her death.
Their family hails from Bhagalpur in Bihar and have been living in Delhi for over two decades.
She visited the burn ward of AIIMS Trauma Centre on May 16 to check if Pooja or her body had arrived there, but couldn’t find any lead.
Women bore the maximum brunt
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal arrived at the site on May 14 and announced a magisterial inquiry into the matter along with compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured.
There are, however, many contentions in the officials list of the employees who worked there and hence would leave many uncompensated, say labour unions.
WUCI said as the devices were assembled at the factory, most workers were women who in most cases remain underpaid, overworked and don’t even find a place on the official payroll and are paid in cash.
Out of 27 dead, 21 were women and out of 29 missing, 24 are women. This indicates the overwhelming majority of women in victims.
Women workers are often unregistered and receive no PF card, identity card or ESI coverage, said Prithviraj, a representative of WUCI.
Survivors recount horror
The four-storey building housed the electronics company with owner Manish Lakra and his family living on the top floor.
Around 250 people worked in the company Cofe Impex Pvt Ltd, which assembled and sold CCTV cameras and routers.
The building did not have clearance from the Fire Department and had only one staircase with a constricted exit. Lakra had applied for a factory licence in 2016 which was later suspended.
The company owners, Goel brothers, were reportedly planning to move to a bigger office in Noida.
The blaze started around 4 PM when a motivational speech session was underway following recent recruitments, with all the company employees present together on the third floor.
Survivors recount that the door had been locked from outside and as the session began, within 10 minutes they realised that a fire had started on the floor below.
Soon dense black smoke engulfed the room and they couldn’t see anything.
Vagan Ram, a migrant from Siwan district of Bihar and had been employed in the company for four years, and other survivors told that when they tried breaking the glass panes to save their lives, the management personnel were asking them not to damage the glass.
मुंडका अग्निकांडः तीसरे माले से कूद कर जान बचाने वाली महिला ने बताया भयावह मंजर
How did people escape?
The son of the man – asking them not to break the glass – who worked as a technician at the factory retaliated vehemently, they say, and began smashing the panes.
With visibility and breathability diminishing each moment, the workers were trying hard to break it open using their elbows and heads, gasping for oxygen.
Workers were not allowed to use phones and were required to submit their mobile phones in a locker before starting work. This also led to delay in communication due to which information couldn’t reach officials on time.
Many people jumped from the third floor to save their lives. A crane operator nearby came to the rescue and extricated around 60 people.
Fire tenders, stuck in traffic in Peeragarhi, and police managed to arrive at the spot at around 6 PM.
Ropes were thrown from the ground and tied on window bars, with the help of which many came down. But the ropes kept catching fire, scorching survivors’ hands while they were getting down, and breaking midway while people were suspended in the air.
Lakra was present in the building with his family when the fire started. They immediately jumped to the adjacent building through the terrace and escaped, police said.
It is being alleged that they had closed the terrace door, using which many people could have saved themselves, however, it has not been confirmed.
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