Massive fire breaks out at Ajman residential building

March 29, 2016

Ajman, Mar 29: A huge fire gutted at least two buildings in the Ajman One residential cluster of 12 towers close to the border with Sharjah on Monday night. Fire mainly damaged tower 1.

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Brigadier Shaikh Sultan Bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Commander-in-Chief of Ajman Police, said five people sustained minor injuries and they were treated at the site. A pregnant woman was rushed to Shaikh Khalifa Hospital as she suffered from dyspnea.

Ajman Civil Defence tweeted early Tuesday morning that although the fire had been controlled, the cooling process was underway.

The operations room had received a call about the fire at 9.45pm. Civil Defence, rescue and ambulance teams rushed to the scene. Traffic on roads leading to the area had come to a virtual halt.

Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, rushed to Ajman to follow-up on the details of the firefighting operations, through the Command and Control Center at Ajman Central Operations Room at the Directorate General of Civil Defense in Ajman.

Bismillah, a Pakistani tenant of tower 8 in the complex said her three children rushed down 19 floors to safety. Tenants gathered around the complex as the buildings burned. "We are all very distraught. We have lost everything," she said.

Several units battled the huge blaze well into the night.

Flames are seen raging while the area has been cordoned off leading to huge traffic jam Ajman and Sharjah. Fire fighters were busy putting out the fire until late into the night.

“My flat is completed gutted,” said another resident while wiping away tears. "I have lost everything including my documents and I have no place to stay.”

Tower 6 was gutted by midnight as the inferno continue to rage through the building.

It didn't appear to spread to any other building after tearing through tower 8, 7, and 6.

Many tenants were in tears as the building burned. Huge crowds that gathered to watch the incident dispersed somewhat after midnight but many people continued to take pictures and videos.

"All I have left are the clothes on my back, " said an Indian tenant of tower 6, who lived on floor 22.

"My colleague is coming to pick me up. I am too disturbed to make sense of it all."

Buildings in the complex apparently untouched by the fire were empty as tenants had been evacuated.

"I am waiting to see if I will be let back in. Otherwise I will have to sleep on the beach tonight," said Katerina, a tower 3 tenant from Ukraine.

"I can't believe how quickly all this happened last. I saw the fire from my window and as a precaution grabbed my documents and left the building. It was not a huge fire then."

Fire trucks, police and ambulance units remained on the site. Police kept pushing forward the cordoned area away from the complex as fiery debris rained down.

People stood watching the flames well into the night.

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Comments

Ahmed
 - 
Tuesday, 29 Mar 2016

sorry some correction....It should be abula hab Not abu thalib

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News Network
May 17,2020

Bengaluru, May 17: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Transport Minister Laxman Savadi on Sunday wrote to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari requesting to issue new lockdown guidelines including permission to operate public transport and said the lockdown has caused a financial loss of Rs 16,00 crore to all four Karnataka Transport Undertakings.

In view of these problems, the state Transport Minister requested Gadkari to permit the deployment of Non-AC buses on scheduled routes to ensure the adequacy of services.

The four State Transport Undertakings (STUs) in Karnataka which are providing bus-based public transport services within the state and to the neighbouring states are Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

"KSRTC, NWKRTC and NEKRTC operate buses for mofussil services i.e. Interdistrict, intradistrict and interstate, whereas BMTC operates only in urban and suburban areas in the city of Bengaluru. The four STUs put together hold a fleet of about 24,900 buses including 1,520 air-conditioned buses and operate about 71.00 lakh km. per day and carries about 98.00 lakh passengers every single day," Savadi outlined in the letter.

The Minister said due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown that ensued have brought regular bus operations and functioning to a grinding halt.

"This has caused a devastating impact on the operations of all the four STUs due to the combination of lack of revenue and continuing fixed costs such as salaries and pensions to staff, payables against existing loans etc. It has been estimated that the lockdown has caused a financial loss of INR 1,600/- crore to these four STUs," he added.

Savadi said even after post-COVID lockdown, operations and revenues won't reach its previous demand& supply patterns in the next six to eight months due to reduced economic activity and users' perceived risk of contacting COVID in public transport.

In addition to that, "occupancy should be allowed up to seating capacity (without standees). This is essential to meet minimal demand," he said in the letter.

"The crew should wear facemask and hand gloves. The crew with health issues should not be deployed. The face masks should be made mandatory for all the passengers. Only asymptomatic persons should be allowed to travel in public transport. The Government of India may consider staggering working hours for various sectors to reduce peak hour traffic demand," the minister listed out these recommendations in the letter.

Savadi said that with social distancing norm of reduced seating capacity in public transport, it will not be possible to provide transport facility to all the daily passengers. This will create demand for more buses, which cannot be met.

"Restrictions on public transport will lead to passenger commute by overcrowding in smaller vehicles like cars, maxi cabs, goods tempos etc. which will adversely affect preventive measures," he added.

Therefore, Savadi requested Union Minister to look into the above matter and issue fresh guidelines to all the states / UT's.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Kalaburagi, Apr 20: With no COVID-19 case reported here on Sunday, the total number of virus-infected people in the district stood at 22.

While three persons have succumbed to the infection in the district so far, three others have been cured and discharged.

"No COVID-19 case was reported in Kalaburagi district today. Total 22 positive cases and 3 deaths have been reported in the district till date. Three persons have been cured," said District Magistrate B. Sharat.

Karnataka's total count of coronavirus patients has surged to 390, said the State Health Department on Sunday.

"Six new cases have been confirmed for COVID-19 in the State from 5 pm on Saturday till 5 pm on Sunday. Cumulatively, 390 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state," it said.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 20: A ruckus erupted in Padarayanapura on Sunday allegedly over shifting of suspected COVID-19 persons to quarantine facility by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials.

The incident occurred in the late evening at Padarayanapura which is recognized as a 'Red Zone' when BBMP officials went to bring 15 secondary contacts of corona positive patients.

However, some people and youth created ruckus and broke the barricade and removed police post which was stalled in the area.

Soon after receiving the information, Bengaluru South Deputy Commissioner of Police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

"Lockdown continues, please remain indoors.Tomorrow will be as it was till today. We Understand your situation and appreciate your cooperation," tweeted Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City, Bhaskar Rao.

In Karnataka, 384 people have detected positive for COVID-19, of which 14 people have succumbed to the infection, as per the Union Health Ministry.

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