New Delhi, June 15 -- On January 23 this year, Delhi cinema halls were packed for the release of the sequel to "Border", the Hindi film. But for 36-year-old Umesh Tanwar, the launch brought back painful memories of a tragedy at south Delhi's Uphaar cinema nearly three decades ago. Tanwar's three uncles had gone to watch the first-day, first-show screening of "Border" on June 13, 1997, when a devastating fire broke out at Uphaar cinema, killing 59 people. It was the Capital's worst cinema disaster. Tanwar was among several people who attended a prayer meet organised by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) on Saturday in south Delhi's Green Park to mark the 29th anniversary of the incident. The association also extended condolences to the families of victims of the recent fire at Malviya Nagar's Flourish Stay Bed and Breakfast (B&B), which killed 23 people. The fire at Uphaar started in a transformer in the basement and quickly spread to parked vehicles, engulfing the building in thick smoke. More than 150 people on the first and second floors of the cinema hall were trapped, while 59 of them died. "My father has never gone to see a film in a cinema hall after the incident. We cousins eventually went to college and watched a few films with friends, but the fear from the incident looms. This year, "Border 2" released and I couldn't hear the song or watch the movie at all. It felt like nothing has changed -- the pain, memories, and sense of loss remain as raw as ever," said Tanwar, who was seven when the fire happened. "As the horrors of the Malviya Nagar fire unfolded in the media a few days back, it felt like a member of our family had died again," said Tanwar, a resident of Chhatarpur. For 43-year-old Ginnie Jain, who lost her elder sister in the 1997 tragedy, similar painful memories surfaced. "If my sister was alive, she would have turned 50 now. She was 21 then, newly engaged in February that year. Within a few months, in June, we lost her," said Jain, who was in Class 10 at the time. Families mourning their loss also criticised the government for repeated regulatory lapses that lead to fire-related incidents. R Krishnamoorthy, 69, lost both his children -- a 17-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son -- in the Uphaar fire. "Places change, but the tragedy remains the same. One day, it's a cinema hall, another day, a hospital or a hotel. Innocent lives are lost because someone, somewhere, has cut corners on their responsibility," he said. "Look at how desperately people were jumping from the Malviya Nagar B&B. Only then did authorities suddenly announce a series of regulations. People are made to believe action is being taken, but the real issue has never been the absence of rules, it is corruption and poor implementation. Unless the value of human life is placed above everyday business interests, nothing will truly change," he said....