Just 11% of city’s fire hydrants operational Clear Danger As 74% Were Not Working Near Mantralaya

Mumbai: The financial capital of India seems to be playing with fire, as just 11% of the hydrants in the city are in working condition. When it comes to south Mumbai, where the seat of the state government is located and that was gutted in a blaze on Thursday, it is slightly better with nearly 26% functioning. "Defunct hydrants could be one of the reasons for delay in controlling the fire that gutted Mantralaya," a BMC official said.      Hydraulic department records show that the entire city is dotted with 10,220 fire hydrants, with ward A which  has Mantralaya, having 895. "Offices of top corporate houses and premier government buildings are part of ward A. Despite this, merely 230 hydrants are functional here," the official said.      Thursday's fire that engulfed Mantralaya claimed lives of five persons and it took the fire brigade over 12 hours to douse the fire. Fire brigade officials said they had sought permission from Mantralaya to install fire hydrants on the premises but were denied approval. "Nonavailability of hydrant resulted in interrupted water supply. Shortage of water hit rescue operations. Had firefighting vehicles from central agencies not joined the operations, the damage would have been more," a fire brigade official said.      Fire hydrants are key to fire-fighting operations. When fire tenders run outof water, they hook up to these sources of water supply. 'Follow London, inspect hydrants'  Mumbai: Civic officials said most of the hydrants in the city are defunct as they are either buried in newly-made pavements or encroached upon by the slums.      "If 89% of hydrants are defunct in a city like Mumbai, then the financial capital of India is certainly a fire risk," a senior official attached to the state disaster management cell said. He said Mumbai should follow London fire brigade procedure, where the crew conducts inspection of hydrants every two years.      BMC commissioner Sitaram Kunte refused to comment on it.      "On Monday, a meeting has been called of all those who were part of the operations to douse fire at Mantralaya. They will share their experience on the fire-fighting operations and then the administration will decide on measures it needs to take to deal with such situations," he said. The Mantralaya after getting a fresh coat of paint on Sunday evening