Fire in India's Parliament: Time for a new house?

The fire that broke out at an air-conditioning plant in the Parliament complex could have been much worse if it had happened on a working day

Those who are, like me,

regular visitors to Parliament House must quake at the news of the massive fire in the complex on Sunday that reportedly took 11 fire engines to bring under control. 

But first, a quick recap: the air-conditioning plant where the fire occurred is located barely three minutes by foot from an extremely congested parking lot, used by everyone who has a parking label and can drive into the Parliament House Complex (or PHC) – that is, they don’t have a driver.

On Sunday, there must have been few or no vehicles parked in the area. But if Parliament is in session there are usually a few hundred cars, and twice that number of two-wheelers.

Imagine what could have happened if the AC plant had caught fire on a day Parliament was working. Not only would the fuel tanks of all those vehicles have gone up with a ‘whump’ but it would have been well nigh impossible for the best fire brigade in the world to put out the resultant blaze which would have been a deadly cocktail of CNG, diesel, and petrol, - and should it have spread to the café that is part of the reception – LPG cylinders, too. 

The main Parliament building might not have been touched – but the accent is on ‘might’. 

Of the number of people that are there on any given working day of Parliament, the less said the better.

Little wonder then, that even the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, who has walked through these walkways and knows the lay of the land, has said he worries about the fire safety (or lack thereof) of the area.

Parliament House is a beautiful building and you feel a sense of awe and pride that, however flawed India’s democracy might be, it is alive and functioning from this magnificently proportioned building.

But it is time to start a debate on whether the building should be protected for its heritage value while the everyday working of Parliament is shifted somewhere else – to a may be more modern complex that can support the increasing demands made on a structure that is, let’s face it, nearly 100 years old (Parliament met in this building for the first time in 1927).

Frankly, given the decrepit condition of the innards of the building, Parliament needs to be saved and protected – mostly from itself.