K'taka to conduct fire safety audit in 166 govt hospitals

Bengaluru, May 8

Officials of 166 district and taluka government hospitals across Karnataka, have been instructed to conduct a fire safety audit of their premises and receive an NOC from the State Fire and Emergency Service, an official statement said on Sunday.

The circular by Health Commissioner also said that the hospitals will be granted Rs 50,000 each under Rashtriya Aarogya Abhiyan.

The development comes in the wake of Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar's instruction to his department on Sunday.

The move was quickly initiated by Sudhakar after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a video conference recently with Chief Ministers, suggested conduct of a fire safety audit as incidents of fire accidents had increased due to summer heat.

Out of the 166 hospitals that have been instructed to conduct the audit, there are 16 district hospitals and 150 taluk hospitals. The hospital officials have been given a deadline of May 21 to submit an action taken report, an official said.