Central University of Kashmir (CUK) in Nowgam erupted in chaos on Tuesday when a fire broke out in the journalism department’s media studio. The blaze was so intense that the whole studio was gutted in 20 minutes, engulfing costly electronic equipment. The incident has raised questions about safety measures in educational institutions in the Valley.

It was around 11.30 am when the fire started on the third floor of a building which houses two departments of the university – Convergent Journalism, and Vocation Tourism and Hospitality Management. It soon engulfed the classrooms adjacent to the media studio, damaging them partially.  

The blaze was brought to the notice of a member of the technical assistance team, who was working inside the building, when someone from outside yelled “fire”. “It was a close shave for me, I could have been trapped inside,” said the employee.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but witnesses say they saw wires burning – implying a short circuit lit the flame. The wall of the media studio was covered with highly combustible synthetic foam, due to which the whole studio turned into an inferno within minutes. 

Not one fire extinguisher was installed at the studio, and the lone such device that was available couldn’t be used properly as people didn’t know how to operate it.

Thankfully, a major calamity was averted as the 80 students of both departments were not in attendance at the time since their classes had been called off early in December in view of the examinations. Only faculty members and non-teaching staff were present at the spot.

Aquib Bhat, a student from the journalism department, was thankful. “I thank the almighty that there were no classes going on, otherwise anything could have happened. There could have been a stampede and it could have been disastrous for us.” 

However, students and faculty from other departments had to be evacuated, even as two students and one faculty member sustained minor injuries. 

University vice-chancellor Mehraj-ud-din said everyone had been rescued without major injuries.   

Dream project went poof

The gutted media studio, inaugurated in April by BBC‘s former correspondent Dr Andrew Whitehead, was a dream project for both the students and faculty. Students who wished to join audio-video (AV) production are now anxious about their future as courses relating to AV, new media research and narrative writing were scheduled to begin by February 2018.

Asif Khan, coordinator of the journalism department, took to social media to express his sorrow: “A heart-breaking and unfortunate incident happened today. My dream project, which took me two years to realise and set up, (the) ‘Multimedia Studio’ at DCJ-CUK, went up in flames due to a short circuit. Two years’ hard work gone in 20 minutes. But thanks to Allah almighty, no major injuries and loss of life.”

A student from the journalism department who didn’t want to be named said: “After the fire incident, our V-C wasted no time in announcing that exams will be conducted according to the schedule. I hope he shows the same promptness in setting up a new studio for us.”

What about safety measures?

The fire breakout has raised concerns among students about their safety. Mohsina Yaseen, a student from the journalism department, said: “There are around 15 rooms on the floor and only one fire extinguisher was installed in the corridor. There should be trained security people around who can take immediate action in such circumstances.”

Another person, a faculty member who wished to remain anonymous, said: “There was panic all around due to the smoke. Had a fire alarm been installed, this could have been avoided.” Another embarrassing fact is that the university has not conducted any safety audit or safety drills so far. 

“Recently, a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) team visited the university and accredited it with a B++ rating. How can the NAAC team miss such safety loopholes? Isn’t safety a concern for them?” asked a student who didn’t want to reveal his identity. 

In times of crisis, people run to the emergency exit, but not one emergency exit exists on any floor of the building. Muhammad Akbar Dar, deputy director, fire and emergency services, lashed out at the university authorities and told a local daily, Kashmir Monitor: “What happened at CUK was a result of the management’s irresponsible approach, they didn’t even take the basic precautions. I was told the building is rented and hence the institute feels it is pointless to spend money on fire safety measures.” The university had shifted to the rented building in 2014. During the NAAC’s visit in August, the entire campus was given a facelift, yet no safety audit was conducted.

Director of relief and disaster management Aamir Ali said: “Had safety drills been conducted, it would have been easy to control the fire. As it is, places where highly combustible material is used need extra safety measures.” 

The varsity officials called all the allegations baseless. University registrar Mohammad Afzal Zargar admitted that “we are operating from a rented building”, but said “I have been told by the assistant registrar that the landlord had already conducted the fire audit”. 

“We have not been able to conduct safety drills but while procuring the safety equipment, we gave training to our faculty members,” he said.  Newslaundry tried to contact the landlord, but the calls went unanswered.