BANGALORE: The Utility Building on MG Road is one of the landmarks of Bangalore City. The 24-floor concrete structure accommodates many shops, a mall, as well as several government offices. The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has taken adequate fire safety measures at this building and the Fire and Emergency Services personnel have installed fire safety equipment here.A five-member squad of Fire and Emergency Services oversees the fire safety measures at this building. However, shortage of manpower is a cause of concern.There are only four firemen and one officer. While two firemen are on day shift, the other two work in the night. If any one firemen goes on leave, then the other has to take care of the equipment and be on alert for 12 hours.Friday is a busy day for the firemen at Utility Building. During the poojas performed every Friday, the ‘devotees’ burn excess camphor triggering the smoke alarm.“We are not against anybody performing poojas but burning excessive camphor should not become a nuisance. Every Friday evening (around 4 pm) we are on an alert,” says a fireman on condition of anonymity.Worse, one of the steel roller shutter, which closes the building to outsiders, has been out of order for the last few months. Now, anyone can enter and exit from the premises without any difficulty. “We have already informed the BBMP authorities to repair the damaged steel roller shutter. We have seen many anti-social elements enter the premises at midnight. These people can play mischief on the premises. Keeping a vigil on them has become an additional duty for us,” rues the fireman.However, BBMP Assistant Executive Engineer (Mayo Hall division) P B Patil says that a proposal has been sent for funds to repair the roller shutter. Though a fire station is situated on the other side of the road, the vehicles parked at the entrance will make accessibility an issue here too. Employees here say that shortage of security personnel is one of the reasons for visitors to park vehicles haphazardly.
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