A late night fire at the ongoing Khadi Mela in Ranchi, which left three children and four others grievously injured on Sunday, has once again bared the state’s callous disregard for fire safety and appalling inadequacy in its blaze battling arsenal.

The 17-day fair sponsored by Jharkhand State Khadi Gramodyog Board began at the capital’s Morabadi grounds on December 20, albeit without the mandatory fire clearance and most basic firefighting gear like carbon dioxide cylinders, sand buckets and an exclusive water reserve.

According to an eyewitness, the fire started around 10.30pm when the families of two Ferris wheel operators were preparing food on kerosene stoves in a tent. “The wind swept a sheet of flame from a stove towards the synthetic drapes of the tent and it caught fire, which then spread rapidly,” he said.

Md Alam, who is also a giant wheel operator, said his colleagues Naresh Das and Majeed Ansari lived in two adjoining tents. “The children were fast asleep while Basanti Devi (wife of Das) was preparing dinner on a stove, which burst barely 15 minutes after I walked out of the tent to beat the chill at a bonfire near the gate,” he added.

Fortunately, a fire tender stationed at Birsa Munda Football Stadium was immediately pressed into service and the blaze was tamed within half an hour. But by then, the damage was done.

Seven people, including Das’s six-year-old granddaughter Sandhya and the two teenaged sons of Ansari, received serious burns in the accident and have been admitted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). Dr Vinod Kumar said the degree of their burns ranged between 40 per cent and 70 per cent. “The children and Basanti Devi are critical,” he added.

The Khadi Mela is spread across an area of 1.75 lakh square feet. Some 600 stalls witness 5,000 visitors every day. The numbers swell on weekends.

When The Telegraph visited the venue on Monday it saw that fire safety was a term alien there. Not a single fire extinguisher or sand bucket could be spotted, let alone water tankers.

Also, the fair blatantly violates Union home ministry directives on temporary establishments. “The stalls are made of nylon or silk, which are highly inflammable and mock government of India guidelines to every state that organises fairs, seminars, et al,” said a senior officer at Audrey House fire station.

He revealed that the Khadi Mela organisers had not sought the mandatory no-objection certificate from the fire department.

The Telegraph also discovered that Sabri Bhojnalaya, a giant food joint at the venue, was most prone to an inferno. The tent is made of synthetic cloth and the kitchen has no ventilation.

Khadi board chairman Jainandu’s mobile remained switched off throughout Monday. Chief executive officer of the board Amarnath Jha put up a brave face to say there were no lapses in fire safety. “We had a fire tender on standby,” he insisted.

What about extinguishers and fire-retardant material for stalls? “Everything is alright,” he said, before passing the buck to office superintendent Subedar Pandit and disconnecting the call. When contacted Pandit just said: “I am busy now. Will talk later.”

State fire officer Suresh Prasad conceded that almost every ongoing fair in the capital was a mishap magnet since no clearance had been sought from the fire department.

A fire officer at Audrey House pointed out that Potala Market at Town Hall and magician O.P. Sharma’s Zilla School campus show venue were open invitations to fire.

He claimed that when the district administration had asked them to inspect the market for woollens and the magic show tent for fire clearance, they had raised objections. “The pandal at Zilla School is made of inflammable material and has no proper exits. The Potala or Tibet Market stocks up huge quantities of woollens, but ignores every fire safety guideline in the book,” the officer said.

However, before The Telegraph managed to grab images of negligence at the cramped mart, the Tibetan market association made haste to install over half a dozen fire extinguishers.

Ranchi deputy commissioner K.K. Soan expressed ignorance about the report from the fire department, but promised to check. “If this is the case, I will ensure immediate action against the magic show organisers and authorities of Potala Market,” he said.

Soan maintained that as a procedure, they always asked the fire department to run a safety check before the district administration granted permission to any organiser. “However, in some cases, when the application comes late, conditional approval is granted with the rider that fire safety guidelines should be complied with within a stipulated time,” he said.

But norms have been violated at Khadi Fair?

“I can’t deny it. However, I have to assess at which level the glitch happened. I have asked the chairman of the Khadi board to ensure safety measures asap. I am not one to let go off things easily if they are wrong,” he added.

Will this fire be an eye-opener?

Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com