It has been a year since the fire in the 61-storey 1 Avighna Park at Currey Road, but the city is still waiting for measures to avoid such incidents. The electrical audit policy for buildings is still stuck in red tape. The BMC has now made it mandatory to install IoT (Internet of Things)-based systems in upcoming buildings, but the fire-fighting status of existing towers is in limbo.

On an average 16 fire incidents are reported every day in the city, out of which, 11 incidents are due to electrical failures. Last year, on October 22, a fire in Avighna Park claimed the life of a security guard and raised several questions about electrical safety even in high-rises. A fire in Tardeo’s Sachinam Heights took 9 lives in January 2022. Though several reports and announcements have been made after every big fire, none of the measures suggested are implemented. One of them is a mandatory electrical audit of buildings. It appears that the state government is not serious about starting electrical audits of buildings as a precautionary measure.