Topic of the day:-“Fatal fires: the need for strict safety norms”
Fire Safety Norms For Hospitals Need To Be Strengthened And Strictly Enforced
The devastating fire at the Andheri hospital of the Employees State Insurance Corporation in Mumbai that killed at least eight people is a shocking reminder of the low priority fire safety gets in India. That a blaze could break out in a relatively new building with such deadly consequences calls into question the precautions taken by the authorities. The Maharashtra government should conduct a thorough probe and examine the claim made by the Fire Department that the hospital had failed an inspection recently and was served a notice. It would be shockingly negligent if the hospital continued to function without adhering to fire safety standards in spite of an adverse report from the statutory authority. Ironically, ESIC is a welfare organisation working to protect the health and well-being of the labour sector, and is expected to set an example through the quality of its facilities. The Andheri horror evokes memories of the AMRI hospital blaze in Kolkata seven years ago, in which 92 people died. It led to an assessment of hospital safety in all States, but evidently the impact has been patchy at best. In fact, the Justice Tapan Mukherjee Commission appointed by the West Bengal government held the directors of AMRI hospital responsible, since they actively reviewed the institution’s administrative measures. This year, critically ill patients had to be carried outside by relatives during a fire at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.
A strong building code with features for reduction of fire hazards is important for all structures, but it is more so for hospitals since they host people who are incapacitated and cannot be evacuated quickly. The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) goes by the National Building Code and its specific norms for hospitals, which include minimum requirements for multi-storeyed structures, such as alarms, sprinkler systems, specified-width staircases, smoke barrier enclosures and checks against storage of combustible materials in areas where patients are kept. Going forward, all State governments should require mandatory compliance with such safety features for any institution handling patients or giving care. Certification of facilities through third-party audit should be made compulsory to eliminate conflicts of interest involving official agencies. The institutions should also be insured for the highest levels of public liability. At a broader level, governments must shed their indifference and work to make all spaces safe. The situation today is depressing. In private, public or commercial buildings, official agencies tend to favour tokenism rather than high standards for the safety of occupants and visitors. They are ever-willing to “regularise” deviations in construction over time. It is time to fix responsibility for deadly accidents on a single official agency.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) avert
Meaning : turn away (one’s eyes or thoughts).
Tamil Meaning : தவிர்க்க
Synonyms : avoid
Antonyms : aid
Example : “she averted her eyes while we made stilted conversation”
2) prevailed
Meaning : prove more powerful or superior.
Tamil Meaning : வெற்றி
Synonyms : abound
Antonyms : forfeit
Example : “it is hard for logic to prevail over emotion”
3) endorsed
Meaning : declare one’s public approval or support of(v).
Tamil Meaning : ஒப்புதல்
Synonyms : approved
Antonyms : disapproved
Example : “the report was endorsed by the college”
4) Convention
Meaning : a way in which something is usually done.
Synonyms : show
Antonyms : discord
Example : “to attract the best patrons the movie houses had to ape the conventions and the standards of theatres”
5) peg
Meaning : a short pin or bolt, typically tapered at one end, that is used for securing something in place, hanging things on, or marking a position.
Synonyms : clinch
Antonyms : detach
Example : “she put her mack on a peg in the hall”
6) stark
Meaning : severe or bare in appearance or outline(adj).
Tamil Meaning : முற்றிலும்
Synonyms : blunt
Antonyms : covered
Example : “the ridge formed a stark silhouette against the sky”
7) negotiators
Meaning : a person who conducts negotiations.
Synonyms : delegate
Example : “US trade negotiators”
8) concerns
Meaning : make (someone) anxious or worried.
Tamil Meaning : கவலை
Synonyms : burden
Antonyms : pastime
Example : “the roof of the barn concerns me because eventually it will fall in”
9) impact
Meaning : the action of one object coming forcibly into contact with another(n).
Tamil Meaning : தாக்கம்
Synonyms : brunt
Antonyms : avoidance
Example : “there was the sound of a third impact”
10) cumulative
Meaning : increasing or increased in quantity, degree, or force by successive additions.
Tamil Meaning : ஒட்டுமொத்த
Synonyms : aggregate
Antonyms : decreasing
Example : “the cumulative effect of two years of drought”
11) prospect
Meaning : the possibility or likelihood of some future event occurring(n).
Synonyms : expectation
Antonyms : impossibility
Example : “there was no prospect of a reconciliation”
12) complacency
Meaning : a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.
Synonyms : satisfaction
Example : “the figures are better, but there are no grounds for complacency”
13) paradigm
Meaning : a typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or model(n).
Tamil Meaning : முன்னுதாரணம்
Synonyms : criterion
Example : “society’s paradigm of the ‘ideal woman’”
14) compact
Meaning : closely and neatly packed together; dense(adj).
Tamil Meaning : கச்சிதமான
Synonyms : tight
Antonyms : loose
Example : “a compact cluster of houses”
15) mitigation
Meaning : the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something.
Synonyms : reduction
Antonyms : increase
Example : “the identification and mitigation of pollution”
16) suffocating
Meaning : the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something(n).
Synonyms : drown
Antonyms : free
Example : “the identification and mitigation of pollution”
17) devastating
Meaning : highly destructive or damaging.
Tamil Meaning : பாழாக்கி
Synonyms : calamitous
Antonyms : blessed
Example : “a devastating cyclone”
18) probe
Meaning : explore or examine (something), especially with the hands or an instrument(v).
Tamil Meaning : ஆய்வு
Synonyms : exploration
Example : “hands probed his body from top to bottom”
19) claim
Meaning : state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof.(v)
Tamil Meaning : கூற்றை
Synonyms : assertion
Antonyms : denial
Example : “the Prime Minister claimed that he was concerned about Third World debt”
20) negligent
Meaning : failing to take proper care over something.(adj)
Tamil Meaning : அலட்சியமாகவும்
Synonyms : inadvertent
Antonyms : attentive
Example : “the council had been negligent in its supervision of the children in care”
