Biz body backs Ficci on AMRI

RUDRA BISWAS

Ranchi, Jan. 4: It's not only the Calcutta business chambers that have come out in support of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (Ficci) reproachful stand on the way the Bengal government is handling investigations into the AMRI fire tragedy.

Closer home, Federation of Jharkhand Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) also feels that the police action against seven directors of AMRI Hospitals, Dhakuria, "was not completely non-discriminatory".

A day after Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the AMRI crackdown was not targeted at any particular community, FJCCI president Sajjan Saraf told The Telegraph: "We fully support Ficci's demand to release those who are not responsible for day-to-day operations of the hospital. The Ficci statement reflects the mood of the entire trade and industry community."

He added: "Any industry or business employs managers and other supporting staff to man its day-to-day operations. These employees are paid monthly salaries to shoulder well-defined responsibilities. Though the directors cannot shrug off their overall responsibility, the primary onus rests with the managers and supporting staff. Only when these managers abscond or are reported missing, can the directors be held responsible."

Saraf also pointed out that in case of the AMRI fire, police arrested seven of its directors but two government nominees on the board had not been apprehended till date.

"This speaks volumes about the discriminatory action of Calcutta police," he added.

Bengal is already low on the priority list of entrepreneurs. The arrest of seven AMRI directors and the Bengal government's soft stand on its representative and other doctors on the board would further scare away investors, Saraf predicted.

On Ranchi, the FJCCI warned that most government departments and high-rises were death traps with neither the fire department nor other statutory bodies like the Ranchi Regional Development Authority and Ranchi Municipal Corporation bothering to take stock of safety apparatus.

"Many buildings housing government departments were constructed decades ago. Electrical wires laid then have never been examined or replaced. Over the years, air-conditioners have been installed at the offices of top officials though no one cared to check whether the existing infrastructure can withstand the additional load. In such a scenario, a fire at these places can prove to be worse than the AMRI disaster," Saraf cautioned.