Of the 145 textile units at Pandesara in Surat, none has adequate provisions for fire safety. No mill has been adequately equipped with fire safety provisions. Notices will be issued to all of them and asking them to comply with fire safety norms. There are about 350 textile mills located in the city and nearby areas of Palsana and Kadodara. These textile mills employ about three lakh workers and their monthly turnover is pegged at about Rs 1,800 crores. The lives of lakhs of workers are at risk due to weak structures and no fire safety provisions.

Major industries spend around eight per cent on corporate social responsibility and also on lavish layout for their own units. However, other textile mills are run under tin-sheds and have concrete walls and temporary supports. These textile mills dump their finished products and raw materials in semi-open shades, which is a recipe for fire disaster.

The recent instruction of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board about chimneys to mills has helped bring down air pollution marginally. In the last few months, notices have been issued to at least 36 textile mills for causing air pollution. They comply with law for a few days and then again turn to their old practices.