Kamala Mills fire: Across road from tragedy spot is another disaster-in-waiting

Lane towards Todi Mills Social is narrow and impossible for a fire engine to reach Entrance to Mathuradas Mills is narrow congestedThe Kamala Mills fire has woken Mumbai up to the glaring fact that the premises right opposite mdash Mathuradas and Todi Mills compounds mdash are sitting on a fire bomb When midday visited the premises it found that it would be near impossible for a fire brigade vehicle to enter the compounds in case of a disaster Even the additional municipal commissioners car was seen struggling to enter Mathuradas Mills compound Mathuradas and Todi Mills premises have more than 10 restobars and pubs inside where on weekends thousands gather to party Alarmingly the entry and exit points of Mathuradas Mills are dangerously narrow And if a vehicle is parked in the entry lane the width is reduced to halfAdditional Municipal Commissioner A L Jarhad who inspected the mills premises on SaturdayWhat we foundThere are two entrances mdash one from the Senapati Bapat Marg on the Todi Mill side and the other from the fish market near Lower Parel station bridge When Additional Municipal Commissioner A L Jarhad tried to enter Mathuradas Mills compound in his car to inspect the eateries inside he had to get off at the entrance and walk in The narrow entry lane forced Jarhads driver to park his car near Cafe Zoe Likewise when we entered Todi Mills from Senapati Bapat Marg we found vehicles parked on both sides of the entry lane and a tempo was trying to enter cautiously Pedestrians too were seen struggling to get in and out of the premises Imagine the scenario in case of a disasterAlso read Kamala Mills Fire Mumbaikars Cancel Their New Year Eve CelebrationsThe narrow entrance to Todi Mill from Senapati Bapat Marg is dotted with tempos taxis and other vehicles PicsShadab KhanWhen we entered the lane where Hoppipola and Zaffran are situated the width of the road is barely 15 feet which is not enough for a fire engine to enter in an emergency Also cars were parked on one side of the lane making it even more congested fter crossing Zaffran to reach Mathuradas Mills compound the road there gets extremely narrow at the turning point From there one road leads to The Woodside Inn and the newlyopened Toit Brewery This road is about 1518 feet wide and both have covered a small portion of open space outside their eateries In the next lane the road leading to Summer House Cafe Cafe Zoe and Todi Mill Social is congested and only one vehicle can enter or exit at a time The lane towards Todi Mill Social is also congested and fire engines would find it impossible to reach there in an emergency The entrance to Mathuradas Mills from the fish market side does not have enough space for a fire engineThe lane next to Zaffran restaurant that leads to The Barking Deer Brewpub can only accomodate one car at a time This usually results in a bottle neck on weekends during party hoursmidday found that both compounds are fire traps and near impossible for help to reach the eateries inside in case of disaster midday has footage where a tempo that had entered the premises had to reverse in order to get out as it could not take a turn Jarhad however chose to play down the issue Our officers are inspecting the premises but I feel the roads are narrow here as the premises are old Fire vehicles can enter but certainly not two vehicles at a time When asked why he got out of his vehicle and walked he said I had to inspect too many places inside hence preferred to walk He advised patrons who visit the premises not to park their vehicles on both sides of the laneAlso read Mumbai Pub Tragedy FIRs Lodged LookOut Notices Issued Demolition Drive OnThe entrance from Mathuradas MillacircAcircAcircu00c2u0080AcircAcircu00c2u0088Compound from Sitaram Jadhav Marg eventually leads to a bottle neck PicsAshish RajeWhat fire brigade vehicles needA fire brigade officer told midday Fire engines and water tankers are 255 metres or 8 feet wide But as per norms fire brigade vehicles should have turning circle diameters of 11 to 12 metres or 36 feet to easily move in or out during a disaster Unfortunately on these premises less than half the space is availableKamla MillThe officer added It will affect fire fighting and rescue operations as in such places during a fire we would have to station our vehicles far from the spotExplaining the problem the officer said If my water tanker is stationed about 500 metres away then we have to connect at least three hose lines Also what if ladder vans are needed at the disaster site these cant go inThe lane to Woodside Inn and Toit Brewery Taproom and Kitchen at Todi MillActing Chief Fire Officer KV Hivrale said We need two exits at least and if that is not available at these places we will be taking action When asked why permissions were given if there was low accessibility at these places he said We have to check if there were permissions given or not and who gave themThe road that leads to Todi MillacircAcircAcircu00c2u0080AcircAcircu00c2u0088Social is a tight fit GraphicRavi JadhavIf permissions were given then even the officer who did so will have to bear the brunt of serious administrative action midday contacted Social and Hoppipola who didnt want to comment Cafe Zoe and Toit didnt respond Summer House Cafeacute said they are moving out of the premises in the next one month and so dont wish to comment