2 weeks ago
Bengal Hotel Fires Expose Deep Fire-Safety Failures
Two hotel fires in West Bengal killed 17 people in just two days.
Nine died in a hotel in Kolkata, and eight pilgrims died in another hotel in Tarapith.
Survivors said they did not hear fire alarms and found emergency exits locked or missing.
A government audit had already found serious problems with the state’s fire department.
Bengal had far fewer fire stations than official guidelines said it needed.
Many firefighter jobs were also vacant.
Some radios, tracking devices and firefighting vehicles did not work properly.
The audit said these problems could make it harder to rescue people quickly.
Minister Agnimitra Paul said officials would inspect hotels and check their safety permits.
Seventeen people died in two hotel fires in West Bengal within 48 hours, including nine at Kolkata’s Hotel Sikha Inn and eight at a Tarapith hotel.
Survivors reportedly heard no alarms and encountered locked or missing emergency exits in both fires.
A 2021 Comptroller and Auditor General audit found Bengal had only 138 operational fire stations against 435 required in February 2020.
The audit recorded major staffing shortages, incomplete infrastructure, failed communications equipment and other fire-service deficiencies.
Minister Agnimitra Paul said authorities would check hotels’ permits and fire licences and take action if violations were found.
- Who
- Seventeen hotel occupants, including some reported medical tourists from Bangladesh and eight pilgrims, died; West Bengal’s fire department and hotel authorities are implicated in the safety concerns.
- What
- Two hotel fires killed 17 people and highlighted alleged failures in alarms, emergency exits, firefighting infrastructure and administration.
- Where
- Hotel Sikha Inn at Florence Mansion on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata, and a hotel in Tarapith, Birbhum district, West Bengal.
- When
- The fires occurred within 48 hours: the Kolkata fire around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, two days after the Tarapith fire.
- Why
- The article links the deaths to reported hotel safety failures and structural deficiencies identified in a Comptroller and Auditor General audit.
Audit findings and safety concerns
Government response
Cause and accountability
Audit findings and safety concerns
The article attributes the tragedies to administrative neglect and long-standing deficiencies in fire stations, staffing, equipment and hotel safety systems.
Government response
Minister Agnimitra Paul said officials would check whether hotels had valid permits and fire licences and that action would be taken.
Hotel capacity and permissions
Audit findings and safety concerns
Survivors reported absent alarms and locked or non-existent emergency exits, while the article raises concerns about multiple hotels operating across a building’s three floors.
Government response
Paul said that operating ten hotels on three floors of one building could not be allowed and indicated that authorities would investigate.
Preparedness and response
Audit findings and safety concerns
The audit documented fire-station shortages, delayed construction, non-functional radios and GPS systems, unserviceable vehicles and staffing vacancies that could slow rescues.
Government response
The article reports no completed government remedy for these audit findings, but the minister said inspections and enforcement would follow the fires.
Key facts
- Total deaths
- 17 people died in the two hotel fires.
- Kolkata death toll
- Nine people died in the fire at Hotel Sikha Inn.
- Tarapith death toll
- Eight pilgrims died in the Tarapith hotel fire.
- Fire-station requirement
- Bengal required 435 fire stations as of February 2020, according to the audit.
- Operational fire stations
- Only 138 fire stations were operational, a reported shortfall of 68%.
- Fire-operator vacancies
- 4,045 of 5,441 sanctioned Fire Operator posts were vacant as of April 2019.
- Audit project spending
- The state paid Rs 5.46 crore toward a Rs 6.07 crore modernization project whose GPS and SIM systems remained non-functional.
Quotes
Bengal Minister Agnimitra Paul
State minister overseeing the fire and emergency services
“We are planning to form a team to check whether hotels have valid permits and fire licences. Ten hotels are being run on three floors of a building. This cannot be allowed. The police are still checking whether they (victims) are Bangladeshi or Indian. Definitely, action will be taken.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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