Monday, December 28, 2009

Firemen in Mumbai cannot go beyond 20th floor

How is the BMC approving building plans with more then 20 floors ? Every new building coming up has more then 20 floors. Expecting the builders to comply with fire-safety requirements is asking for the fox to guard the chicken. Is there anyone who believes this will happen ? I guess with the 100% water cut in future, one can only hazard a guess in the event of an unfortunate fire in the upper floors of a high-rise. Like all things in India, politicians won't face the music unless there is a catastrophic incident. Buyer beware is all one can advise.
DNA India reports.
Mumbai: The growing number of skyscrapers in Mumbai has given the city's skyline a facelift, but it will prove to be a headache for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The civic body is ill-equipped to handle fire threats to most skyscrapers in the city.

The BMC has told buildings with more than 20 floors to arrange for their own fire safety.The civic body has made it clear that it is not in a position to help high-rises in case of a fire, particularly if the fire is on the 20th floor or above. The Mumbai fire brigade is not equipped to douse fire above 20 floors as the tallest snorkel available with it is 60 feet high. Using the snorkel, firemen can climb up to 20 to 22 floors (i.e. 68 meters).

The city, approximately, has 186 tall buildings - which have more than 20 floors - and about 59 under-construction buildings that are expected to be more than 20 storeys. Two of the under-construction skyscrapers are expected to be more than 100 floors.

The BMC is now changing its policy to make sure that all buildings are safe in case of a fire. "BMC will allow the new high-rises to come up only if they are equipped with modern fire fighting equipment - especially on the top floors," Manisha Mhaiskar, additional municipal commissioner, said.

Mhaiskar added that the occupants of the building will also have to be equipped with the fire fighting installations. "It is very difficult to douse a fire which breaks out on the upper floors. There will be another change in the policy, which will hold the residents responsible for any mishap in the skyscraper," she said.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is a serious crime... that builders are launching projects after projects (even top reputed builders are included in this) of 20+ towers and are looting hard earned investors money.

And none of the tower is completed till date... best example is oberoi splendour where buildings still stand tall vacant and in unfinished state...

hats off to the builders...

shailesh said...

Teaser rates a marketing gimmick

Mumbai: Deepak Parekh, chairman of India’s oldest and biggest mortgage firm Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd, or HDFC, does not see demand picking up for commercial real estate in the near future, with the action continuing to be in the residential space where there is a huge shortage. The prices of residential property in some parts of the country have almost returned to the 2007 levels after a slump and may go up further, depending on the demand-supply gap in a particular market, but cannot rise hugely from the current level as there will be resistance from buyers. “The builders will try (to raise prices) but...they won’t get the buyers if they do it,” Parekh said.

--
I think the foreign investors have learnt a lesson. Today there is universal acceptability, and even developers agree that the demand for IT (information technology), commercial real estate, retail and shopping malls, SEZs (special economic zones) and industrial parks is a thing of the past.

At HDFC, we have taken a decision that we will not fund any developer who is building any of these because there is a huge amount of surplus space.

I know readymade, state-of the-art buildings across cities in India (that) have no tenants. The new owner of Satyam Computer Services Ltd (now branded Mahindra Satyam) has moved out of Bangalore and Chennai and gone to Hyderabad because there is a lot of surplus space (in Hyderabad). So all the space that Satyam was occupying in Bangalore and Chennai—a few lakh sq. ft—is now vacant.

At the national level, in Gurgaon, Mumbai...everywhere, offices are ready but vacant and unleased.

Anonymous said...

Fire-fighters cannot tackle fires in high-rise office buildings (even less than 20 floors in height) where the open-plan floor area is greater than 100 sq.metres (yes just 10 x 10 metres), unless sprinklers are installed.

www.firesafetyengineer.com

skeptic optimist said...

Lets call that Vastu Guy from Previous post, he will use his Vastu shastra to get water from 5 directions onto the buildings. I still remember in Pune, I was on 11th floor we never had any fire drills, or escape plans. (luckily the Government orders builders to have 2 stairways which they dont follow).

shailesh said...

Housing bubble threatens China's boom

First Dubai, now Shanghai: Economists worry that speculation is driving a dangerous expansion of the real-estate market.

The young couple had just finished another disappointing round of house hunting when Sun Chun turned to his wife with more bad news. Their real-estate agent had called to say that an apartment they liked had been sold, but not before the price jumped dramatically at the last instant.

“The soaring price of property has become a serious national issue and the economic distortions it gives rise to are affecting the everyday life of the majority,” read a recent editorial in the Global Times, a paper closely affiliated with the ruling Communist Party.

However, some say the government is unlikely to take measures – such as raising interest rates or tightening lending policies – to curb runaway prices because it sees unemployment as a far bigger danger than a real-estate bubble. The fear that factory closings would lead to unrest among millions of laid-off migrant labourers was cited as one reason that Beijing acted as aggressively as it did in introducing its massive economic stimulus last fall. Now, the same ultra-loose fiscal policy blamed for rising property prices has fuelled a construction boom that is keeping millions of workers employed.

“[The government is] stuck in a tough position. On one hand, they're worried about non-performing loans and bubbles in real estate and the stock market. On the other hand, they're worried about rising unemployment,” said Michael Pettis, a professor of finance at Beijing University. “The tools that they have to solve one problem are likely to make the other problem worse.”

Dexter said...

Vik can you cover following thought in a separate blog:

Afforability is a Mirage.

Imagine this simplified example with a buyer willing to pay $1000 per month. With a 5% mortgage rate, the buyer could afford a $186,282 30 year fixed rate mortgage (principal and interest). But the buyer expects to sell the home in seven years, and he expects mortgage rates to be 7% then. That means the new buyer - who will also be willing to pay $1000 per month - can only afford a mortgage of $150,308.

So how does the affordability index account for this expected $36,000 loss? It doesn't.

Anonymous said...

Anon above:
That is inflation in 7 years that would account for the difference.

Anonymous said...

Wish HNY to Everyone...and Sad Year for Realty players ;)

Anonymous said...

Anon above:
You are funny!
You don't have to wish them bad. They will reap what they sow. They are doomed to fail.

sabbalseshu said...

I'm visiting this blog after a year or so, if I correctly remember. A lot of things have since then, and bloggers who predicted economic downturn are proven to be totally wrong. As I used to point out that black money reigns supreme and indian economy, real estate etc is totally runs on it.

Our Bharat is the most corrupt country in the world and will remain so. If you refused to be corrupt, soon you will be slum dweller

Jai Hind

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