The Mangolpuri factory fire that killed four workers in northwest Delhi on Friday night also exposed how routine decisions during extended shifts determined who escaped and who remained inside the shoe factory, according to survivors and relatives interviewed by The Hindu.
Vijay, who had worked at the factory for nearly 20 years, was scheduled to perform a double shift on October 30. He returned home for dinner but decided not to go back. By the time he learned that a fire had broken out, four of his fellow workers had died and two others had been injured.
“I had a double shift. I came back home to have dinner, but then I did not feel like going back, so I skipped the night shift that day and slept. Later, I found out that four people had died. Now I wonder what would have happened had I gone,” Vijay told The Hindu while waiting for updates near the mortuary at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri on October 31.
Vijay said workers normally worked from 9 a.m. until 7 or 8 p.m., but were sometimes asked to work additional hours when demand increased. The extended shifts had become more frequent during the festive season. “Sometimes we were asked to do double duty when there was demand. Now, because of the festive season, we were doing double shifts,” he said.
The accounts of the victims and survivors show how workers were divided between the factory and nearby homes during dinner. Some left the premises to eat, while others stayed back or ordered food inside the workplace.
Harihar Chaurasiya, known as Pinto, stayed at the factory after his 12-year-old son brought him dinner from home. His close friend and co-worker, Putan Chaurasiya, had gone home to eat. Putan returned to find the factory already engulfed in flames, according to Sudheer Chaurasiya, a relative.
Harihar’s aunt, Pushpa, said the family was struggling with the thought that a small change in his plans might have saved him. His son remembered that his father had asked him to return home safely and hurry before it became too late. Those were the last words the child recalled hearing from him.
Ashok, 25, had ordered dinner from a nearby hotel and chose to eat inside the factory while some co-workers went out for their meal. He had finished eating and was speaking to his wife and two daughters when he heard noises and saw smoke, his uncle Umesh Prasad said. Ashok ended the call after telling his family there was a fire, but the call never connected again.
The fire has left families seeking accountability and financial support, while the circumstances described by workers point to the risks faced by employees working extended hours inside industrial premises. The available account does not establish the cause of the fire or whether the factory complied with fire-safety and workplace regulations. Further details on the investigation, the injured workers and the authorities’ next steps were not provided in the supplied report.
