Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Friday, 16 February, an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased victims of Alipur's paint factory fire and Rs 2 lakh for victims with minor injuries.
On the evening of 15 February, at least 11 charred bodies were found in a massive fire that broke out in a paint factory in Delhi's Alipur area.
The Delhi chief minister visited the area of the incident and said, "The fire that broke out yesterday evening is saddening. It's been told that it was a paint factory, and the chemicals reached the drains of the area, which also caught fire and spread to nearby shops and houses. In this, 11 people died and 4 were injured. No one's life can be valued, but we can do whatever we can to help."
"For houses and shops that have been burned, a full assessment will be done and compensation will be given, according to government policy," added Kejriwal.
"There is an allegation that the fire brigade came late. I will order an investigation into this, and whoever is found guilty will not be spared. Action will be taken soon. Second, how was this factory operating in a residential area? An inquiry will be made for that," said Kejriwal.
About the incident, Director of Delhi Fire Services (DFS) Atul Garg said that they received the call about the blaze at 5:26 pm "As many as 22 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, which managed to douse the flame by 9 pm The search operation is going on. The fire had engulfed two paint and chemical godowns and eight shops," said Garg, as reported by news agency IANS.
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