Wankhede Not Safe

On Wednesday, when two fire officials inspected the Wankhede stadium for the second time, few lapses in the arrangements of fire safety mechanism were revealed.

Refuting to elaborate on the lapses at the stadium, a fire officer on condition of anonymity confessed that mandatory fire apparatus like the ring hydrant system, water hydrants, internal riser system for the stands, no-smoking indicators, fire alarms and extinguishers have not been installed yet. 

The popular Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, scheduled to host the 2011 World Cup final went into the redevelopment mode soon after the Indian Premier League drew to an end on June 1, 2008.

Expressing displeasure at the non-compliance of fire safety norms at the revamped Wankhede stadium, the city fire brigade department will write a letter to the MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association), seeking a reply from them.

"We will soon write a letter to the MCA stating there is a need to comply with fire safety norms at the stadium. Once they abide by the terms we would again conduct an inspection," chief fire officer Uday Tatkare said.

Tatkare further added, "The team has found that the newly renovated stadium has many loopholes in its fire safety mechanism. The stadium must be in compliance with the fire safety conditions."

Meanwhile, MCA joint secretary Lalchand Rajput has denied receiving any sort of written or oral communication from the fire brigade department.

Besides the top game scheduled to be held on April 2, Wankhede will also be staging two other World Cup ties. The matches would be held on March 13 (New Zealand vs Canada - a day match) and March 18 (New Zealand vs Sri Lanka - a day/night match).

References:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Fire-officials-unhappy-with-safety-norms-at-Wankhede/articleshow/7521682.cms

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