For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind... Eleanor Everet
In last decade not only Pune city but majority of the urban cities of the country has made rapid growth & it has reflected on wealth also. See the change in demands for housing & we see a huge upsurge about the type of them. No longer we are happy with simple plain homes where shelter is the sole purpose! Now we need comfort along with luxury with all type of posh bathrooms, kitchens, well lit rooms with modern electric fitting & amenities such as club house, swimming pool, Air Conditioners, Hi end specifications & what not! We need big parking lots for our latest cars & even servants room at some of the apartments!
With all such wealth as well the comfort are we not neglecting one major byproduct of the wealth? And it is safety or security of the comfort or the luxury we are enjoying. As with the wealth come along lots of other ill factors who may also be wanting to share the wealth you are having but by wrong ways! Here the safety comes on two rather three fronts. One is from any entity who intends to rob or theft us from what we have, second is in form of terrorism & third is natural calamity or accident like fire or earth quake. How many of us think on these lines while choosing their home? Sadly we are far short sighted when making major decisions of our life & that reflects in searching our own home also. There lies another safety factor which is Environmental safety but that's another topic of write up in itself! Though it has to be always in our mind so we should not make harm to the safety of surrounding environment by our acts.
Going by the first three fronts lets see what’s the scenario? On our wealth safety which we consider rather should consider as a primary thing while looking for our own home. First is what builder has provided & second is what we can amend in what has been provided? There are many gadgets rite from security camera too house breaking alarms but considering our Indian using mentality I personally prefer a single entry & single exit planning for the entire complex backed up with a simple intercom system & watchman cabin at entrance. This may sound a bit too simple but burglars alarm & their setting isn't job of our culture where N number of times people in the house keep doing in & out. A 24 hours surveillance camera is surely helpful but its for post action of any mishap & cant be considered as preventive act. Though they are most helpful in identifying personnel's if at all some crime happens. With the kind of life style most of the time occupants of the house are away from the home at same time or leaving only elderly persons at home. And at such time it’s highly important to guard the entry of unwanted persons itself in first position in our homes. And for that it’s very much important the complex or the building should have one entry & one exit. This helps in controlling the entry of ever visitor to the complex. But this system should be backed up by 24 hours good security men & here is where many societies lack as they try to save on security services. In market many of them are available at all types of rate card but then mostly the cheaper lot you get the worst is the service which may cost us much more at end! Similar is to have a look at the planning of the complex & avoid to go for the buildings or set of buildings with multiple entrances as it provides easier access for any person who wants to get away with his bad deeds. Also important is not to tell the security people our personal works like car washing etc which may deviate their concentration from the duty of checking the visitors. Neither the visitors should feel insulted if they are halted at security gate for identification. These things may look small but may cost dearly at end.
Many amenities which may be part of the complex should be treated with this mindset especially things such as swimming pool so the enjoyment doesn't turn up as a cause of sorrow by accident. Electronic gadgets in the house as well the simple object like gas connection in the home. A p[roper care as well regular maintenance of all such things is the utmost important thing & which should not be neglected.
A safety gate right at the entrance of a building stair/lift lobby which can be locked at late night hours can also be a good option. Here we can ensure entry of only authoritative personals. In most of the commercial complexes surveillance cameras is the best thing as after evening there isn't much occupancy in the commercial buildings, which isn't a case with residential buildings. And in any case our neighbor is the best security watchman so we all must keep our eyes & brains open for routine things in & around the complex we reside. Any sudden change should be looked in & enquired. This will ensure much of a check for all the ill elements around.
This is about the safety against theft or such things at the same time we should be ready for natural disaster or accidents like fire. In commercial buildings it’s advisable to have fire alarms or auto sprinklers. In residential buildings most hi rise i.e. above 15 m height have fire fighting systems with fire down takes & hose reels in each mid landing. Also there are 2 staircases which for every building more than 4 storied which are usually blocked with things like unwanted furniture or planters! A periodical checking of the systems functioning is a must which many societies neglect & at the time when need arises we come to know that the system is there but not functioning. Very small are the monthly maintenance contract amounts but we try to save on them & end up with big losses.
Then there comes the issue of natural calamities. Here though it’s difficult to guess what it can be but one must be aware about at least the kind of things to be done at such times & about the specifications of the building regarding same. And at least we can ask questions while buying the home as well construction processes the developer follows. For eg. whether the building is earth quake resistant & the norms have been followed while designing the same as well in which zone the building lies regarding earth quake etc. Simple things like not to use lift during earth quake or fire must be made known to the residents & mock drills should be conducted. We must have basic knowledge like how to cut of the elctric supply of the complex & things like that at such times.This may sound funny but look at the way Japan has reacted during such bad hit by nature & then we will realize the importance of the same. At last as the wise man has said true safety lies in our approach towards the subject & not just in few devises!
Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune
Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !
http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/
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