The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)

Before Rajkot fire, how game zones sprang up: No clear guidelines, lure of quick money

A GIGANTIC model of a piranha in Ahmedabad’s GMDC Ground was hard to miss on the busy 132 Feet Ring Road. The huge installati­on that housed an “underwater aquarium” was the highlight of a summer fun fair that was set to open in the last week of May on the GMDC Ground. Or so was the plan until a massive fire at Rajkot’s TRP Game Zone claimed 27 lives, including two children, on May 25.

A statewide crackdown on game zones and amusement parks in the aftermath of the tragedy ensured that the fun fair that promised “foreign rides in Ahmedabad” — as claimed on its Instagram handle — was never opened to the public.

Nearly `2 crore was spent to rent the GMDC ground from its custodian — Gujarat University, said Vakil Ahmed Khan, manager of the fun fair. The organisers also got NOCS from various authoritie­s, including the Ahmedabad Fire & Emergency Services (AFES), the Light Inspector of the state government, and the city traffic police. In addition, they got a fitness certificat­e of rides and the foundation certificat­e from a team of Roads & Buildings Department following spot inspection­s by the department officials concerned.

According to Khan, all the permission­s and NOCS can be obtained in 15-20 days on average to run such fun fairs.

He says they planned to start the fair on May 23 and then the Rajkot fire disrupted their plans. “Before we could get permission from the police commission­er, the Rajkot fire accident happened and authoritie­s 'orally' told us not to start the fun fair,” Khan told The Indian Express.

According to state government data, 20 of 101 game zones across eight municipal corporatio­ns that lacked fire NOCS and Building Use (BU) certificat­es were sealed after inspection­s. The rest have been asked to “shut down temporaril­y”.

In Rajkot, eight of 12 gaming zones were sealed — the highest in the state. It was followed by five of 34 in Ahmedabad and three of seven in Bhavnagar.

Nirmal Harindran

Junagadh saw all four of its game zones getting sealed.

One needs a space of about 10,000 square feet to set up a profitable gaming zone that has a soft play area as well as arcade games, vending games and a bowling alley. "The investment could range from `1.5 crore to `5 crore depending on the design. This is in addition to the cost of leasing the land or property inside a mall,” says an owner.

Then comes the staffing costs. A game zone could have 20 to 30 staff members depending on the size of the facility. "When done well, one can generate up to 60 per cent return on investment­s in a year," he says.

Once the land has been acquired, consultanc­y firms are hired to prepare a detailed model of the gaming zone, including the play areas.

The equipment for the softplay zone as well as gaming consoles, trampoline­s and other indoor areas are custom-made and imported from China and assembled as per the design.

“Since the lands are on lease, one would not spend on masonry constructi­on. Therefore, pre-engineered buildings (PEB) are given the first preference” the source adds.

PEBS are different from prefabrica­ted buildings (PFBS) that were used at the TRP Game Zone. “PEBS are globally accepted structures that are designed using CAE (computerai­ded engineerin­g) software and made from steel... It is different from fabricated metal structures that are less durable, weak and also highly combustibl­e as it is insulated externally," says a Vadodara-based game zone owner.

However, former AFES chief Mehrnosh Dastoor feels concrete structures are better than “PEB or other metal structures”. “Most metal structures, including the best quality PEB structures, are mounted on heavy gauge steel girders that temporaril­y expand vertically and horizontal­ly in case of a fire and can cause the structure to buckle down," Dastoor reasoned.

While recreation­al spaces on government land under the private-public partnershi­p (PPP) model come up as per the land reservatio­n or after a transfer of reserved status, game zones are allowed to be set up on private lands if the plot does not fall under “restricted zones”, says an VMC official.

In the Rajkot case, the Special Investigat­ion Team (SIT) found that the game zone came up on a plot marked for a residentia­l zone.

Dastoor says that a lack of awareness combined with an absence of guidelines is a major reason why businesses get started without safety measures in place.

“Any business wants to make fast money. They do not want to spend on safety but they spend on fancy equipment that makes their business stand out. There is a lack of awareness among people...they are not aware what it can cost them if compromise­d safety turns fatal,” says Dastoor.

A game zone owner agrees with the need for guidelines. “The state government has constructe­d several recreation­al spaces under PPP models but it does not have guidelines to fix responsibi­lity.”

The Gujarat High Court, which has initiated a suo motu PIL into the game zone fire accident, has come down heavily on the local civic body. It has directed the state government to constitute an independen­t factfindin­g committee by June 16 to inquire into the role of erring higher officials. "Each and every arraigned official has to be named in the inquiry and accountabi­lity has to be fixed after conducting a department­al inquiry," the HC stated.