Days after fourteen people were killed in the hotel fire in central Kolkata, the city Municipal Corporation on Friday ordered the closure of all restaurants setup on the rooftop of buildings across the city.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor and Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim stated all the rooftop restaurants will have to be shut down in order to ensure uninterrupted access to premises in case an emergency arises.
“Under KMC (Kolkata Municipal Corporation) building rule 117/4 Kolkata Municipal Corporation will serve notice to all rooftop restaurants to shutdown for safety because rooftop terrace is a common area of any premises,” Hakim said.
When Hakim was questioned if the municipal authorities will use force to close the rooftop restaurants in the city with immediate effect, he said: “We are issuing notices to them for immediate closure of restaurants on rooftops and shifting such eateries to lower floors of a building or other places. If they fail to comply with the order, we will take appropriate steps.”
The mayor also said people should remain more conscious and vigilant about safety issues.
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Hakim stated that a meeting will be held soon among the municipal commissioner, fire brigade officials, and police officers to decide on steps needed to be taken to prevent the April 29 fire incident from recurring in future.
A rooftop restaurant in south Kolkata’s Park Street area has already been served a closure notice, news agency PTI reported citing an official.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation is preparing a report on the number of rooftop restaurants across the city to take necessary action.
Fourteen people were killed in the devastating fire at the Rituraj Hotel at Mechhuapatti in the Burrabazar area.
Police on Thursday arrested the owner and the manager of Rituraj Hotel after the devastating fire engulfed the six-storey property at Mechhua Falpatti in the city’s Burrabazar. 13 charred bodies were recovered from the debris on Wednesday and another victim succumbed to injuries later, taking the death toll to 14.
(With inputs from news agency PTI.)
