Fire in Mumbai's print hub causes panic

The news sent ripples through Mumbai's print fraternity. The fire broke out at Dhanraj Industrial estate which is in proximity to Shah and Nahar (the mecca of Mumbai's print industry in Lower Parel) causing panic among members of the print industry.

15 Dec 2013 | By PrintWeek India

Destroyed post-press department of Image Offset due to fire

The post-press department of Image Offset in Dhanraj Industrial Estate in Lower Parel, Mumbai was destroyed due to a fire which took place in the early hours of 14 December.

There were no casualties in the department as it was closed after the last shift of operation. However according to a witness working in the neighbouring gala who saw smoke emerging out of the gala, if he had not alerted the security and other colleagues, the impact of the fire would have been "very serious". In spite of which, the fire fighting team took two hours to get control over the fire.

Ramchandra, the supervisor who works at Image Offset, said, "The post-press gala was closed after the last shift which worked till 12.30 in the night. The fire took place due to a short circuit in the faulty electric cable. Although there was not much destruction to the machines and the staff, some printed jobs were destroyed due to the use of water which was used to extinguish the fire."

A printer who requested not to disclose his identity said, "The industrial estate has procured a fire fighting system but it has not been installed. It was lying on the staircase. The management committee of the industrial estate should get this installed. Plus the estate officials should audit the
electric cable connections on a regular basis."

Industrial estates like Dhanraj or Shah and Nahar or A-Z Industrial Estate evolved into the gala systems. As the print requirements of the city boosted, the industrial estates such as Shah and Nahar and A-Z became major hubs for print fraternity. It epitomises the Mumbai spirit of pooling
resources and sharing skills. As Arun Rawat, of Print Service, said, "Fortunately, the fire and its impact was not as big as it is made out to be."

But Rawat and others expressing their conern said that Mumbai's industrial galas need to be more vigilant about fire-fighting and implement safety mechanism.

PrintWeek India had recently documented the Shah and Nahar industrial estate. Click here to view the industrial estate which evolved into the gala systems