Hyderabad, May 20, 2025 – In the aftermath of a horrific fire that tore through a residential building in the Gulzar Houz area near Charminar, claiming 17 lives including eight children the Telangana Human Rights Commission (TGHRC) has stepped in to demand answers. The tragedy, which unfolded on May 18, has rocked the city and sparked public outrage, with mounting questions about systemic negligence and governmental apathy.
A Blaze, A Family, A City in Mourning
The fire, reportedly caused by a short circuit, gutted a three-story building housing members of an extended family of a local jeweler. What was supposed to be an ordinary evening turned into a nightmare, as flames rapidly engulfed the structure before emergency services could mount an effective response.
The victims included children as young as two years old, lives lost in minutes, and families shattered forever. The disaster has now become one of the deadliest fire accidents in Hyderabad’s history.
Commission Demands Accountability
Reacting swiftly, the Telangana Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and issued notices to top government functionaries. These include the Chief Secretary, the Police Commissioner, the Director General of Fire and Emergency Services, and the Chief Engineer of the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company.
The Commission has set a deadline of June 30, 2025, for these authorities to submit comprehensive reports addressing lapses in building safety, fire preparedness, and electrical infrastructure. “The Commission is committed to ensuring accountability and safeguarding the right to life and safety of citizens,” read its official statement.
Sources suggest that early media reports pointing to faulty wiring, lack of fire exits, and delayed emergency response played a pivotal role in prompting the panel’s intervention.
Political Tempers Flare
The human cost of the tragedy has also triggered a political firestorm. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) took to social media to condemn the government’s response, calling it a “colossal failure.”
In a blistering post on X (formerly Twitter), KTR wrote:
“No ambulances! No water! No masks! This is abject failure. This fire accident should make everyone with a heart wither in pain… 17 people died from the same family. The biggest fire accident in the history of Hyderabad and no review?”
He also lambasted Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who also holds the Home portfolio, for failing to visit the site or meet the victims’ families:
“Isn’t he the Home Minister too? Aren’t these lives important?… If a government couldn’t save a two-year-old child, what are we all even for?”
A Systemic Wake-Up Call?
This incident has laid bare glaring weaknesses in urban safety enforcement. Despite repeated fire disasters across Indian metros, basic infrastructure such as fire exits, extinguishers, and functioning alarms continues to be absent or poorly maintained in older buildings, particularly in densely packed heritage zones like Charminar.
Experts warn that unless urgent measures are taken to enforce fire codes and electrical safety norms, Hyderabad could be staring at more such preventable tragedies.
What’s Next?
As the TGHRC awaits detailed reports from state authorities, the public outcry grows louder. Civil society groups are planning memorial vigils and calling for stricter oversight of commercial and residential buildings.
For now, 17 lives have been lost, hundreds have been scarred, and a city that prides itself on history and heritage is left asking how such a catastrophe could happen right under its iconic monuments.
If justice is to be served, it will take more than reports and rhetoric, it will demand real, enforceable reform.
