Gulzar Houz fire: Safety Gaps in over 400-year old city exposed
he devastating fire at Gulzar Houz near the iconic Charminar claimed 17 lives, including eight children, on May 18, laying bare critical safety issues in the over 400-year-old Old City. The blaze, suspected to have been triggered by an electrical short circuit, engulfed a three-story building housing Srikrishna Pearls on the ground floor and residential units above, trapping occupants in a narrow, smoke-filled structure.