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By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Death Trap

The fire that tore through Delhi’s Flourish Stay B&B in Malviya Nagar, killing 21 persons, mostly foreign nationals, was the predictable consequence of a system that has made peace with illegality and administrative neglect. It is shameful that the building, that should never have been operating in its existing form, was allowed to function openly in the heart of India's capital. The details are horrifying. A guest house permitted to run only six rooms had allegedly expanded into a 25-room...

Death Trap

The fire that tore through Delhi’s Flourish Stay B&B in Malviya Nagar, killing 21 persons, mostly foreign nationals, was the predictable consequence of a system that has made peace with illegality and administrative neglect. It is shameful that the building, that should never have been operating in its existing form, was allowed to function openly in the heart of India's capital. The details are horrifying. A guest house permitted to run only six rooms had allegedly expanded into a 25-room establishment. Additional floors had been added without approval and rooms were reportedly created in the basement. The building allegedly lacked a mandatory fire safety clearance and had only a single entry and exit point. When smoke filled the staircase, the only viable escape route disappeared. Guests found themselves trapped in a veritable death chamber. The most disturbing question is not how the fire started but how such a building was allowed to exist for so long. No commercial establishment can function in a densely populated neighbourhood without interacting with multiple arms of government which include municipal authorities, licensing officials, fire inspectors and local administrators. The tragedy exposes the uncomfortable reality of urban India that regulations are enforced selectively and violations are normalised. Predictable responses have followed the tragedy. The owner has been arrested and magisterial inquiries have been announced while the government has ordered inspection drives. Such rituals of governance have become as routine as the tragedies themselves. Similar scripts had followed previous tragedies across the country, be it in Delhi or Kolkata or any of the countless building collapses in Mumbai. Every disaster produces outrage and a report which is quietly forgotten until the next catastrophe arrives. India suffers not from a shortage of regulations but from a chronic deficit of enforcement. While fire safety rules and building codes exist, what is missing is the political will to ensure compliance before tragedy strikes. Illegal constructions flourish because they are profitable and regulatory violations persist because of the same reason. Negligence in such cases ceases to be an administrative failure and becomes a form of complicity. The month-long inspection drive ordered by Delhi’s authorities as a reactive measure to the hotel fire is insufficient to say the least. The city does not need temporary crackdowns triggered by public outrage. It needs permanent vigilance. Every hotel, guest house, coaching centre, nursing home and commercial establishment operating in violation of safety norms must face immediate closure. Officials who ignored repeated violations should be identified and punished alongside private operators who profited from them. The dead of Malviya Nagar deserve more than condolences and compensation. They deserve a reckoning with the culture of impunity that turned a modest guest house into a lethal trap.

US Vice President JD Vance, his family arrive in Delhi

  • PTI
  • Apr 21, 2025
  • 2 min read


NEW DELHI: US Vice President J D Vance arrived here on Monday on a four-day visit to India against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement between the two strategic partners to address a variety of issues, including tariff and market access.


Vance is accompanied by his Indian-origin wife Usha Chilukuri and their three children Ewan, Vivek, Mirabel and a delegation of senior US government officials.


The US Vice President and the Second Lady were received at the Palam air base by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.


The American leader was also accorded a ceremonial welcome on his arrival.

In the evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a dinner for the Vances after holding wide-ranging talks with the US Vice President.


External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Indian ambassador to US Vinay Mohan Kwatra are expected to be part of the Indian team to be led by PM Modi at the talks.


The focus of the meeting is likely to be on early finalisation of the proposed bilateral trade pact as well as ways to boost overall trajectory of ties between the two countries.


Besides Delhi, Vance and his family will travel to Jaipur and Agra.

Vance's first visit to India comes weeks after US President Donald Trump imposed and then paused a sweeping tariff regime against around 60 countries, including India.


New Delhi and Washington are now holding negotiations to seal a bilateral trade agreement that is expected to address a variety of issues, including tariff and market access.


Vance and his family are scheduled to leave for Jaipur on Monday night.

In Delhi, the US Vice President and his family are staying at the ITC Maurya Sheraton hotel.


On April 22, the Vances will visit a number of historical sites in Jaipur, including the Amer Fort, also known as Amber Fort. The fort is a UNESCO world heritage site.


In the afternoon, the US Vice President is scheduled to address a gathering at the Rajasthan International Centre in Jaipur.


Vance is expected to delved into broader aspects of India-US relations under the Donald Trump administration during his speech that is expected to be attended by diplomats, foreign policy experts, Indian government officials and academia.


The US Vice President and his family will travel to Agra on the morning of April 23, people familiar with the matter said.


In Agra, they will visit the Taj Mahal and Shilpgram which is an open air emporium showcasing various Indian artefacts, they said.


After concluding their visit to Agra, the Vances will return to Jaipur on the second half of April 23.


The US Vice President and his family will depart for the US from Jaipur on April 24, according to the people cited above.

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