Mehta assures ‘transparent’ fire report

Mumbai: After admitting that he is facing political pressure, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Ajoy Mehta has made it clear that the report of Kamala Mill Compound Fire at Lower Parel will be fair and transparent.

Mr Mehta has revealed that following the Kamala Mills fire there was a lot of pressure on him to not initiate action against the illegal eateries in the city. He claimed that he received calls from various politicos.

On December 29, 14 people had died in a massive blaze at two pubs – 1Above and Mojo’s Bristo at Kamala Mill Compound fire. Following this, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had asked Mr Mehta to conduct an inquiry and submit the report within 15 days.

As a part of the probe, eyewitnesses of the fire incident called on the civic chief at BMC headquarters to testify. Mr Mehta said, “Every information that comes on record will be included in the probe report. I have started hearing eyewitnesses. Some people are responding through mails, videos and WhatsApp messages. Some of them have also asked for special appointments to give their testimonies.”

According to the civic chief, the report will be comprehensive including factors like the cause of the fire, response of people and other authorities, building construction irregularities, lapses on the part of civic officials and measures to be taken in future to avoid such incidents.