Lab fire: Did BBMP ignore request for separate office space for quality control engineers?

A request to provide office space to the staff working with the quality control lab at the BBMP headquarters, engulfed in a massive fire last week, was ignored by the civic body’s top brass, documents reveal. It is not clear, however, whether the request was made for a staff cabin in the same building as the quality control cell or a different one. Nine people, including two women, were grievously injured during the fire on Friday.

On August 16 last year, BG Raghavendra, superintendent engineer of quality assurance, had requested for a separate space for officers such as the chief engineer, superintendent engineer, executive engineer, assistant executive engineer, and executive engineer-quality control.

“If the above requirements are provided, the quality assurance division can work effectively to monitor quality of work in the BBMP jurisdiction,” he said in a note sheet. The file reached the office of engineer-in-chief on August 18.

When contacted, BBMP’s current engineer-in-chief BS Prahlad said he did not remember seeing this file. “I took charge as engineer-in-chief only on September 8,” he said. “I will check the e-file movement to find out where it was held up.”

In the aftermath of the fire mishap, some engineers said the office of engineers should not have been housed in the same building where the quality control lab was set up considering their safety. The nine engineers were holding a meeting when the fire broke out and were injured as they rushed out. The blaze happened as three people tested bitumen extraction on the ground floor. They did not suffer injuries since they managed to get out first.