Safety of high-rise buildings questioned in Parliament

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana   

Safety of high-rise buildings in Colombo and its suburbs came to the limelight in Parliament yesterday with an opposition MP asking whether local bodies have the firefighting capacity in an emergency situation.   

“Cranes which could go as high as at least 50 floors are needed to fight a fire in an emergency. One wonders whether the Colombo Municipal Council or other local bodies have the capacity,” MP Rauff Hakeem said.   

Government MP Arkam Ilyas also questioned the genuineness of safety documents of high-rise buildings. He assured that laws would be introduced to ensure the safety of high-rise buildings.