Lucknow, Dec 20 (IANS): Of 727 hospitals in Lucknow listed for fire audits, only 202 have the no-objection certificate (NoC) from the fire department, as per available data.

This fact has come to light after a fire in the operation theatre of the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) claimed two lives on Monday.

The state government had ordered a fire audit of all hotels and hospitals in the state capital after the Levana Suites blaze claimed four lives on September 5, 2022.

According to the fire department, the safety audit of city hospitals was to be conducted and, in a report, filed by the Lucknow CMO in an affidavit, 727 hospitals were listed for fire safety audit.

Chief Fire Officer (Lucknow) Mangesh Kumar said this affidavit was filed during the Levana incident. "Out of 727 hospitals listed by the CMO, we have issued NoCs to only 202 hospitals, including private and government hospitals," he said, adding that NoCs of 525 are pending.

"These hospitals have never approached the fire department after the Levana fire incident. But we are not saying that all 525 are unsafe," he said.

One of the fire station officers in Lucknow said, "If records of the fire department are to be believed, most of the government hospitals lack fire safety equipment. Records further suggest that not a single government hospital has procured NoC from the fire department."

"Conducting their audit is challenging because many of them are autonomous bodies," added the official.

Due to lack of proper standard operating procedures (SOPs) in UP Fire and Emergency Services Act, 2022, the department is unable to take action against establishments violating fire safety norms.

"The Act was implemented in December last year, but due to lack of any proper SOPs, we are unable to take any action against anyone violating norms," said Lucknow CFO Mangesh Kumar.