1 week ago
Kolkata Safety Sweep Shuts Nearly 40 Hotels and Guest Houses
Officials in Kolkata are checking hotels and guest houses to make sure they are safe.
They closed nearly 40 establishments after finding possible problems.
Some businesses did not have the right licenses or fire-safety certificates.
Others had firefighting equipment that was inadequate or too old.
Officials are also checking whether buildings were legally approved to operate as hotels.
The fire department gave some businesses notices and time to explain themselves.
Hotel owners said closures could hurt their businesses and employees.
Authorities said inspections and enforcement would continue.
Nearly 40 hotels, guest houses and restaurant-cum-bars in central and eastern Kolkata were closed on Friday.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation said it had issued closure notices to 34 hotels.
The fire department issued closure notices to 13 establishments previously served show-cause notices for fire-safety violations.
Officials cited missing or invalid licenses, inadequate firefighting systems and buildings approved for residential rather than hotel use.
Authorities formed 16 inspection teams and said the crackdown on illegal and unsafe establishments would continue.
- Who
- The Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the state Fire and Emergency Services Department, with CESC representatives on inspection teams.
- What
- Authorities issued closure notices to hotels, guest houses and restaurant-cum-bars, while also serving show-cause notices to other establishments.
- Where
- Central and eastern Kolkata, including Free School Street, Marquis Street, Mirza Ghalib Street, S.N. Banerjee Road and Topsia Road.
- When
- The closures, inspections and additional notices were reported on Friday, following notices issued on Thursday.
- Why
- Officials cited alleged fire-safety violations, missing permissions and concerns that some buildings were being used as hotels despite residential-use approvals.
Authorities’ Position
Operators’ Concerns
Need for immediate closures
Authorities’ Position
Officials said establishments that failed to comply with fire-safety norms or lacked required approvals had to be closed, and warned of possible police action if they continued operating.
Operators’ Concerns
Some hotel operators said they had valid fire and trade licenses, questioned why they had not been alerted earlier, and argued that they needed more time to provide documents.
Building-use permissions
Authorities’ Position
KMC officials said a hotel cannot legally operate in a building approved only for residential use unless the necessary permissions are obtained.
Operators’ Concerns
An unnamed hotel owner said the business had a recently renewed fire license and that officials were unwilling to hear the establishment’s explanation.
Impact of enforcement
Authorities’ Position
Authorities described the drive as action against illegal and unsafe establishments and said inspections would continue.
Operators’ Concerns
Operators and workers said closures could deprive employees of income, force guests to leave and create anxiety among other hotels.
Key facts
- Reported closures
- Close to 40 hotels, guest houses and restaurant-cum-bars were closed on Friday.
- KMC notices
- KMC officials said closure notices had been issued to 34 hotels by Friday afternoon.
- Fire department closures
- Thirteen establishments previously served show-cause notices received closure notices after allegedly failing to comply with fire-safety norms.
- Additional notices
- The fire department issued show-cause notices to 17 hotels and guest houses on Friday and gave them 24 hours to respond.
- Thursday notices
- Thirteen establishments—nine guest houses and four restaurants—received show-cause notices on Thursday.
- Inspection teams
- The KMC formed 16 teams, including civic engineers, fire officials and representatives of the power utility CESC.
- Checks conducted
- Teams examined approved building plans, fire-safety certificates and whether electrical use complied with CESC-approved loads.
Quotes
Unnamed DK International Hotel employee
Reception employee at DK International Hotel
“We renewed our fire licence just two months ago. Why were we not told about any shortcomings then? Shutting down a hotel does not just mean closing a business; it also deprives several employees of their livelihoods.”
telegraphindia.com
“Although all our staff know how to operate the fire extinguishers, we have conducted another mock drill so that they do not lose practice.”
telegraphindia.com
Anuj Sharma
Director-general of West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services
“We had issued show-cause notices to 13 establishments on Thursday. All of them failed to comply with fire safety norms. They have now been served closure notices.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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