Conduct regular fire and electrical safety audit of hospitals, instructs PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday instructed the relevant departments to undertake regular fire and electrical safety audits of hospitals and other public places.

In a meeting held at his residence to review the situation of the ongoing heat wave in the country and the preparedness for the onset of monsoon, PM Modi also instructed that proper drills for preventing and handling incidents of fire must be done on a regular basis.

Several major fire incidents have been reported from various parts of the country during the past few weeks. On May 25, seven children were killed in a massive fire at Delhi's Baby Care New Born Hospital. Another major fire tragedy in Rajkot's gaming zone resulted in 27 fatalities.

During Sunday's meeting, the PM also said that regular drills for the maintenance of fire-line in forests and productive utilisation of the biomass must be planned.

The Prime Minister was briefed that as per IMD forecasts, the heatwave is likely to continue in parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh while the monsoon is likely to be normal and above normal in most parts of the country and below normal in parts of Peninsular India, this year.

The PM was also informed about the usefulness of the 'van agni' portal in the timely identification of forest fires and its management.

The Principal Secretary to PM, Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, DG NDRF and Member Secretary, NDMA along with other senior officials from PMO and concerned Ministries were also present in the meeting.