Ahmedabad’s garba season began with only 35 to 40 of 92 applications receiving fire no-objection certificates, leaving several organisers without the clearances required to hold events legally. The Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services said inspections would continue until 5 pm as organisers sought approvals on the first day of Navratri.
Garba events are being held at clubs, party plots and large venues along SG Highway, SP Ring Road and areas around Ahmedabad. According to Ahmedabad Fire Brigade in-charge Chief Fire Officer Mithun Mistry, 92 applications had been submitted by the time of reporting, but only about 35 to 40 had been granted fire NOCs.
Mistry told Divya Bhaskar that some organisers had not completed the required safety work at their venues. The fire department planned to inspect the remaining sites and issue approvals to venues that met the applicable fire-safety requirements by the stated deadline.
The approval process has also affected large air-conditioned dome venues. Swarnim Nagari’s AC dome received permission after 11 pm the previous night, while the garba event at singer Jigardan Gadhvi’s AC dome had not received a fire NOC at the time of reporting.
The Ahmedabad Police and Fire Department said they were working to speed up the process for organisers. Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot held a meeting with organisers to facilitate completion of the approvals. However, the fire department said some organisers had not completed the required work at their venues in time, resulting in clearances remaining pending until the last moment.
Fire clearance is linked directly to police permission for Navratri garba events. Organisers cannot receive the permission issued by the Police Commissioner’s office until the fire NOC has been granted. This means venues without fire clearance cannot proceed with their events until the remaining approval process is completed.
Information from fire department sources cited in the report indicated that around 30% of garba organisers along SG Highway and SP Ring Road were still awaiting fire NOCs. The department said approvals could be issued by the evening after inspections, following which police permissions would be processed for eligible venues.
The pending clearances place the focus on the coordination required between event organisers, the fire department and the police before large public gatherings begin. For attendees, the immediate operational question is whether their chosen venue has completed both mandatory stages of approval. The authorities’ next step is to complete inspections and issue fire NOCs to venues that comply with the prescribed safety requirements, after which police permissions can be granted.
