Mundka fire: Protesters march to CM Kejriwal's residence while missing workers' kins live in uncertainty

Mundka, New Delhi

A week after a four-storeyed factory of electronic goods in the national capital's Mundka area caught fire which led to the deaths of at least 27 workers, dozens of protesters organised a protest march to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence today, on May 20.

The official Twitter handle of CPI-ML [Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist Liberation] shared a video of the protest march and stated that the march is against the gross violation of labour and industrial safety rules.

"Workers are marching towards house of Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal against incidents of factory fires #cpMundka, #AzadMandi #Bawana etc where large number of workers were burnt to Death. All factory fires were caused becoz of gross violation of labour rules & industrial safety rules! (sic)" the communist party posted on Twitter.

The workers' protest march comes two days after CM Kejriwal met those who helped in the rescue of the people stuck inside the burning factory.

"Such heroes prove how Delhiites stand together as a family during all highs and lows. We all have to be united and always help each other and work together," the chief minister was quoted upon meeting them.

Meanwhile, the CPI-ML accused the governments at the centre and the state of ignoring the workers' suffering.

"...both governments in state and centre are ignoring the suffering of workers, and instead are giving free hand for corporates to exploit workers (sic)," it posted on Twitter.

'Whether to mourn or to miss?'

Meanwhile, as per the official list of persons compiled by the Mundka Police Station on May 16, a total of 29 persons are missing and their traumatised kins are running pillar to post to get clarity on the status of their loved ones, many of whom were the breadwinners for their families.

"It's been seven days, still there's no trace of my 22-year-old daughter Monika. If she's dead, at least give me her dead body. I have been running to hospitals, they are saying she is not here? Then where else is she? I need to see my daughter with my eyes in whatever condition she is in. I don't even know whether to miss her or to mourn," Vijay Lakshmi told Gaon Connection.

Standing beside Lakshmi, her husband stated that the doctors have collected the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) samples of his son for matching it with the bodies found inside the factory. "The DNA testing is underway and we are waiting for the results," Vijay Bahadur, Monika's father, told Gaon Connection.

Twenty-one-year old Puja is also one of the missing workers.

"Puja didi (sister) used to work in this family. Her earnings were the only source of livelihood for our family which consists of my younger sister and my mother. She joined the factory barely two-three months back. She used to guide us in our lives. We were taken to the mortuary to identify the bodies but they are so badly charred that it's impossible to identify if my didi is amongst them," Mauni, the 19-year-old sister of the missing worker, told Gaon Connection.

"I appeal to Prime Minister Modi and CM Kejriwal to help us or else we might also not survive the loss of our sister. I want to study further but there's no source of income in my household," she added.

Akbar, a painter by occupation, has similar woes. He has been searching for his wife Musrat ever since he heard about the blaze in the factory.

"I haven't found her body yet.. It is a daily trauma to witness black, burnt bodies of people and wonder if it's my wife. The bodies are so badly burnt that nobody can identify their relatives by looking at them," Akbar told Gaon Connection.

So far, eight out of the 27 deceased workers have been identified.

Meanwhile, several relatives and the survivors which Gaon Connection spoke to, claimed that the actual number of the missing persons is way higher than the official count.

Having climbed down from the third floor of the factory using a rope to save her life, Mamata who joined the factory 1o days before the blaze stated that there were as many as 100 people stuck in the building when she came out of it.

"After lunch, the foreman asked us to gather on the third floor for a meeting. Suddenly, at around 4 pm, there was a stampede and people started breaking the glass windows. It was then that I realised that there's fire in the building. There were at least 100 people inside the burning building when I exited it. Hardly 30 to 35 of those could have survived," Mamta said.

Factory was running without permit: Fire department

When Gaon Connection contacted the director of the Delhi Fire Service, it was revealed that the factory had never applied for a no objection certificate (NOC).

"Whenever any authority like DDA (Delhi Development Authority) or MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) submits a drawing or a map of the building for approval from the fire department, we provide the NOC depending upon the fire safety measures and the design of the building but in the case of the factory in Mundka, no such drawing was sent to us for approval," Atul Garg, director of the Delhi Fire Service told Gaon Connection.

Also, a police official from the Mundka police station informed that three persons have been arrested in connection with the case.

"We have arrested the owner of the building named Maneesh Lakda and also Harish Goyal and Varun Goyal, who are the owners of the factory.," Sunil Bharadwaj, sub-inspector at Mundka police station informed.