What Led to the Charminar Fire Tragedy: Hyderabad's Deadliest Blaze in Years?

Hyderabad, May 18 (NationPress) - The tragic fire incident that occurred on Sunday in a building adjacent to the iconic Charminar, resulting in the loss of 17 lives, marks the most devastating fire disaster in Hyderabad in recent years.

This calamity has once again highlighted the dire need for fire safety measures in multi-storey buildings and the consistent failure to enforce safety regulations, despite repeated assurances from the relevant authorities following each disaster.

Among the deceased were eight children, with the fire reportedly igniting due to a short-circuit in a building located in Gulzar Houz, a bustling commercial area, early on Sunday morning.

In a pattern seen in many recent fire incidents, this G+2 structure housed shops on the ground floor while families occupied the upper levels.

Notably, this disaster occurred merely two days after another fire incident in a G+3 building in Afzalgunj, a busy commercial zone close to Charminar. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, as firefighters successfully rescued eight individuals, including an infant, trapped on the upper floors. Again, an electrical short-circuit was suspected as the cause.

Hyderabad, along with its twin city Secunderabad and surrounding suburbs, has witnessed a series of fire accidents in recent years. Each time, local authorities have promised to take action against those violating fire safety regulations and operating commercial establishments in residential areas.

In July of last year, a fire in a multi-storey building in Jiyaguda resulted in the death of a 10-year-old girl, with five others sustaining injuries. The fire originated from a furniture warehouse on the ground floor and spread to several upper floors.

In November 2023, a fire in a building in Nampally claimed ten lives and injured 12 others. The fire started on the ground floor, which was used for storing chemicals for air cooler production, trapping six families on the upper floors.

March 2023 saw a significant blaze in the renowned Swapnalok complex in Secunderabad, where six lives were lost due to smoke inhalation after a fire broke out on the fifth floor, trapping 13 individuals. Seven were rescued, but six, including four women, succumbed to suffocation.

Earlier, in January 2023, three workers lost their lives in a massive fire at a garment store in Nallagutta, which raged for two days in a six-storey commercial building that was later demolished due to structural damage.

In September 2022, eight individuals perished, and nine were injured in a fire at a hotel in a multi-storey complex in Secunderabad, following an explosion in a basement e-bike showroom.

In March 2022, eleven migrant workers from Bihar lost their lives in a fire at a scrap warehouse in Secunderabad, where they were sleeping on the first floor while scrap was stored on the ground level.

In response to these recurring tragedies, the previous BRS government instructed local authorities to take action against illegal commercial operations in the basements or ground floors of multi-storey buildings and to enforce fire safety regulations.

Politicians visiting the site of Sunday’s disaster echoed the call for preventive measures, while the government announced an investigation. Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, the MP representing Secunderabad, emphasized the need for authorities to enhance fire safety compliance.