Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Kothakota Seetha Dayakar Reddy, along with her colleagues, inspecting the site of the May 18 Gulzar Houz fire near Charminar in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR
Two days after a fire at Gulzar Houz near Charminar claimed 17 lives — among them eight children — members of the Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TGSCPCR) visited the site on Tuesday to assess the aftermath and stand in solidarity with grieving families. Around 10 representatives from the Commission stepped into the barricaded Gulzar Houz circle on Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking to the media, commission chairperson Kothakota Seetha Dayakar Reddy described the incident as “shocking and deeply distressing”, and lamented the loss of young lives. She emphasised the urgent need to strengthen disaster risk reduction strategies, especially in densely populated and vulnerable zones such as those around Charminar.
“The onus of preventing such incidents is on the residents first. One key takeaway from this tragedy is the importance of choosing a residence that isn’t crammed into tightly packed commercial zones. The fatalities were largely due to suffocation, as poor ventilation meant the smoke had nowhere to escape. To make matters worse, the residents had no clear escape route,” she said.
She called for comprehensive preventive preventive mechanisms to avert such fire accidents in the future for the safeguard of the children. She said the commission will continue to monitor developments at the site and coordinate with child protection units and emergency response teams.
Among those who visited the site were commission members Kancherla Vandana Goud, Maripally Chandana, B.Aparna, Gogula Saritha, Premalatha Agarwal and B. Vachan Kumar.
Published – May 21, 2025 12:12 am IST
