Fire dept rains on fashion week

Yet another event in Delhi had a nasty brush with its bureaucracy and red tape on Wednesday when the autumn/winter edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, arguably the country’s biggest fashion event, had to cancel all shows on the first day. The reason: the Delhi Fire Service Department refused to give it permission and Delhi Police, in turn, withheld the no-objection certificate.

It’s not that the fashion show was suddenly sprung on the authorities. It’s part of the annual calendar and permission was sought well in advance. But the fire department was adamant: the organizers, it claimed, had not made the necessary changes.

Asked about these changes, director of Delhi Fire Service R C Sharma said there were two changes sought: one, the number of exits be increased to four, and two, the ramp area be repainted with fire-resistant paint. He said the first request had been complied with, the second was yet to be done. ‘‘Our officers have been visiting the venue for the past two days,’’ he said.

In fact, not just the firemen but a large number of policemen descended on the venue at the NSIC (National Small Industries Corporation) Grounds in Okhla Industrial Area to inspect the venue. That’s when the buzz started about ‘‘a slight delay’’ in starting the show.

Guests waited for hours and a huge traffic jam grew on the main road. Designers were seen requesting the security personnel to let the guests in, or at least the buyers, but to no avail.