Fighting fit

Delhi needs more adaptive fire-fighting facilities

The fire at Anaj Mandi, which left 43 people dead — all of them labourers in an illegal factory — revealed yet again the venal face of the officialdom and small business owners. Multiple rules were broken — from running factories in residential areas to the lack of a no-objection certificate from the fire department, workers living on the factory premises — pointing strongly to a nexus. The factory owner has been duly arrested but it remains to be seen whether any punitive action will be taken against complicit local municipal officials. The tragedy is the latest in a long