NEW DELHI //Scores of relatives gathered yesterday to pay last respects to family members who died in Friday's hospital fire that killed 90 people.
They gathered at the Kalighat crematorium in Kolkata to cremate the remains of loved ones in accordance with Hindu tradition.
Most of the victims died of asphyxiation as they slept. Noxious black fumes filled the corridors and rooms of the Advanced Medical Research Institute (AMRI) Hospital after fire broke out in the basement before dawn on Friday. Many medical staff fled the scene as the fire spread out of control, leaving their patients behind. Of the 90 dead, 86 were patients and four were hospital staff.
Pradip Sarkar, 37, was in the hospital with his father-in-law when his brother-in-law and he noticed smoke. They left the patient's room on the fourth floor to check with hospital authorities.
"The night manager and two secretaries were trying to contain the blaze with fire extinguishers so we went back upstairs to move my father-in-law out of the hospital," he said.
A doctor told him the fire or fumes could not reach the intensive coronary care unit, where Mr Sarkar's father-in-law was being treated.
"We listened to him and went downstairs again to check, but by the time we got down, the smoke was so thick that we could not go back up again. So we waited in vain outside all night, fearing the worst."
His father-in-law died from smoke inhalation, unable to move from his bed.
Mr Sarkar and his relatives were among those performing last rites in Kalighat yesterday.
"This place was full of families bringing in their beloved, knowing none of us could do anything to save them."
Authorities had warned the hospital in September that the basement was a hazard.
The basement was designed to be a car park but was being used to store supplies, including radiation equipment. No action was taken by the hospital to improve safety, said West Bengal state's chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who revoked the hospital's licence on Friday.
"This is a tragic incident and a criminal offence," said Ms Banerjee, who is also the state's health minister.
The AMRI Hospital - recently rated by an Indian magazine as one of the best in Kolkata - did not have proper firefighting equipment, despite a six-month-old order to upgrade, said Damyani Sen, the joint police commissioner of Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta.
The hospital denied that safety regulations were violated.
Six hospital directors have been charged with culpable homicide, and were ordered by a court yesterday to be held in custody for 10 days while authorities determined the cause of the fire.
The tragedy seems to have been compounded by the slow response of the fire brigade and hospital staff's unwillingness to admit that the fire had gotten out of control.
Firefighters took more than an hour to arrive, then had trouble bringing fire trucks close to the seven-storey hospital building because of the neighbourhood's narrow streets.
Further, residents said hospital guards initially blocked them from trying to enter the building to help rescue patients.
Basudam Kayal, 25, who works as an office assistant and lives near the hospital, said his friends and he tried to break down the hospital's front door after watching a child smash a window and fall to his death from the third floor.
"For as long as I live, I will hear his voice in my head, 'Uncle, save me!' I could not do anything. Even if I had a bed sheet, we could have broken his fall."
Shambhu Manna, 23, who is unemployed, said he and his friends used bamboo scaffolding from a nearby construction site to create a rickety staircase outside that they used to attempt to rescue patients.
"The guards would not let us in and locked us out even when we pointed to the fumes coming out from the side of the building. They said, 'it's a minor fire, we are taking care of it'."
Ramapoda Purokaist, 25, an office assistant with an export-exchange company, said he wished the staff had not fled the scene.
"If they were around, at least we would have known where the exits were, or where the firefighting equipment was stored."
Instead, Mr Purokaist and his friends felt their way through the dark, often stumbling on groups of people who were lying unconscious near the staircases, before lowering them to safety through broken windows, using sheets and curtains as ropes.
Yesterday, most of those who helped with rescue efforts were being treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation.
"It needs to enter the minds of people that fire safety is important. We should know to look for fire exits and fire equipment when we are in a building," said Mr Purokaist. "It should not be after such a disaster, but before. This has to be instilled in our minds."
sbhattacharya@thenational.ae
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
The%20Specs%20
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Results
5pm: Warsan Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Dhaw Al Reef, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Quadra Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Mrouwah Al Gharbia, Sando Paiva, Abubakar Daud
6pm: Hatta Lake – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Yatroq, George Buckell, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Adries de Vries, Ibrahim Aseel
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Zakher Lake – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Alfareeq, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Company%20Profile
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The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
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Company%20profile
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
SECRET%20INVASION
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Company%20Profile
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
THE%20SPECS
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
