Over 120 eateries in the city do not have fire safety measures
By Nidhi Roy
The Fire and Emergency services have issued notices to almost 120 eateries across the city for non- compliance of fire safety regulations.
Sunil Agarwal, Additional General of Police, Fire and emergency services, said, “We are taking clear action on the eateries that also include pubs and bars if fire safety has not been installed. Restaurants are quite vulnerable to fire because of their kitchen. Therefore, fire safety is of primary importance”.
After receiving notices, several restaurant owners say that they are going to install fire extinguishers and other equipment.
Srinivasan, owner of Kabab Magic, Jayanagar, said, “We have opened the restaurant just four years ago. We had installed fire extinguishers but they are not functioning now. Therefore we have decided to install new ones”.
The Fire Department say they are also going to take some restaurant owners to court as they have not installed fire safety equipment even after several notices being issued.
Sunil Agarwal, Additional General of Police, Fire and emergency services, added, “We have lodged criminal cases against restaurants who have failed to comply with the rules even after several notices issued by us and also the BBMP. They will have to present themselves in the Karnataka High Court”.
Additional General of Police at the fire department adds that with only 20 fire stations in the city, it is not possible to reach parts of the city during an emergency.
Therefore, it is important that these buildings have fire safety of their own to avoid critical damage.
The authorities at National Restaurant Association of India say that they had started the work on fire safety even before the Fire Department intervened and gave out notices to restaurants.
Manu Chandra from the National Restaurant Association of India said, “We are working on installing fire safety equipment in restaurants. The work had started even before the Fire Department issued notices. There has definitely been development from our side”.
