Remains of the day: Charred furniture, debris in pub

Fallen metal support bars, charred furniture and blackened walls are all that remain of the '1 Above' pub where a devastating blaze claimed 14 lives here last night.
The dead included a 29-year-old woman, who moments before had cut a cake at the pub to ring in her birthday.
The swanky pub where the fire broke out was reduced to rubble, with broken glass and charred furniture scattered on the floor.
The smell of burnt bamboo that once adorned the rooftop pub, and the after-fire smoke filled the air even as fire officials were busy clearing the debris.
As the day unfolded after the tragic night, the pub at the Kamala Mills Compound where the tragedy struck, was desolate barring a few policemen who were conducting a 'panchnama' of the spot.

At the place, which hours ago had seen people screaming and fighting for their lives as flames engulfed the pub, the mood was sombre, the silence interrupted only by the blaring of horns from the road below the fourth floor where the well-illuminated pub stood till last night.

The compound houses some of the most sought-after pubs and restaurants of Mumbai. It also has offices of some TV channels and corporates.
The day otherwise would have begun with posh cars entering the parking area and office-goers rushing in to begin their work.
But today there was a bevy of fire vehicles, ambulances, police vans, media persons and hordes of press photographers.

The pub used to be a favourite stop-over for office goers in the vicinity. While some enquired about the incident, others were shell-shocked.
There were some who blamed civic authorities for allowing the restaurants and pubs to carry on their activities without proper approval.
"Had there been a proper escape route in this claustrophobic structure many lives could have been saved," an eyewitness, who works in a nearby office, told PTI.
The incident has dampened the New Year weekend and other pubs and restaurants in the area could witness lesser footfall in the coming days, he said.
"It was common for a large number of youngsters to visit pubs in the mill compound to ring in the New Year, but due to this incident they might look elsewhere," said a restaurant owner.

The site of the blaze also turned into a high security zone today with many local politicians and senior officials visiting the spot.
Mangesh Kalaskar, a local functionary of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, claimed that the tragedy could have been averted, saying he had complained to the BMC on October 11 that the restaurants in Kamala Mills were illegal, but was told by concerned officials that everything was legal.
Showing a copy of the complaint he had filed to the media, he said, "The people responsible for this fire are the owners of the restaurants, the owner of Kamala Mills and the fire department. They should be charged with murder".