Directions: Choose the word or phrase that best completes the blanks in the given passage in a meaningful manner. New Delhi is (19) ______ on the brink of a towering inferno. (20) ______ but true!…

Directions: Choose the word or phrase that best completes the blanks in the given passage in a meaningful manner.

New Delhi is (19) ______ on the brink of a towering inferno. (20) ______ but true! None of the major (21) ______ buildings in the national capital conform to the (22) ______ fire-fighting (23) ______. If a fire breaks out in any of these, firemen will have little else to do but remain (24) ______ spectators. 72 percent of the buildings with (25) ______ fire risks were unsafe in this regard. The department (26) ______ itself (27) ______ violates the rules. The future seems a bit bleak.

Choose the word that best completes blank (24).