Actor Riteish Deshmukh on Monday took to Twitter to warn about a potential fire safety failure at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad. "So we were at the Hyderabad Airport Lounge - suddenly the power goes off- the way in & out is an elevator that shuts down. The only exit door is locked in a chain (Incase of FIRE it’s a tragedy waiting to happen) (sic)," he tweeted.
Posting two videos of the lounge and showing how the main glass door was locked with a chain, he added, "Security personnel refuses to give permission to open the door at the cost of passengers missing their flight. Wake up Hyderabad airport authority. Public exits can’t be locked in case of emergencies."
Strangely, in response to the tweet, RGIA Hyderabad claimed that the exit door made of glass can be broken. "We regret the inconvenience caused. It was a minor technical snag which was resolved immediately. Please be rest assured that our Airport Terminals are safety compliant. In an event of any emergency, the glass doors can be broken. Passenger safety is of utmost importance to us."
So we were at the Hyderabad Airport Lounge - suddenly the power goes off- the way in & out is an elevator that shuts down. The only exit door is locked in a chain (Incase of FIRE it’s a tragedy waiting to happen)- pic.twitter.com/jO3TQhVlQG
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) May 27, 2019
Security personnel refuses to give permission to open the door at the cost of passengers missing thief flight.wake up Hyderabad airport Authority- public exits can’t be locked Incase of emergencies pic.twitter.com/JkdzpkX9uk
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) May 27, 2019
We regret the inconvenience caused. It was a minor technical snag which was resolved immediately. Please be rest assured that our Airport Terminals are safety compliant. In an event of any emergency, the glass doors can be broken. Passenger safety is of utmost importance to us.
— RGIA Hyderabad (@RGIAHyd) May 27, 2019
However, not everyone was convinced.
"As per fire norms, no emergency exit should be locked when in use. This is basic condition of granting fire clearance. Argument that door can be broken in case of fire does not hold. Any material, brick wall, wooden door, etc. can be broken, but that is not solution or allowed," a Twitter user pointed out.
"Yes glass door can be broken but it looks like a strong one. Besides why chain it or block it like this? The snag might be small but can create panic at times. There should be some manual option too," another user recommended.
The issue of fire safety comes in the wake of a ghastly incident last week where as many as 22 students studying at an arts coaching centre in Surat's Sarthana area in Gujarat lost their lives in a huge fire. Videos of the incident showed children jumping out of the fourth floor of the building, in an attempt to save their lives. The students were in the age group of 14 to 17 years and officials later said that the building did not have a no-objection certificate from the fire department.