Two hotels, two fires, two days, and lessons still unlearnt. A 4:30am fire at Hotel Bideshini in Tarapith killed eight people on Monday, the day when pilgrims were to offer prayers on the final day of the holy month of Shravan. Forty-three people were rescued, and of the deceased, five were from a single family from Meghalaya, including two children. Hotel staff sounded the fire alarm, and guests rushed from their rooms towards the reception from four floors. The fire exit was locked on the other side, and there was firefighting equipment, too. Why were they not utilised during the fire? Police arrived almost immediately since the Rampurhat police station was close by. The owner of the hotel, Kalyan Paul, was arrested.
On Wednesday, nine tourists were killed in a 2:00am fire at Hotel Shikha Inn in Kolkata, of which five were Bangladeshi nationals, four being from a single family, including a child. Eighty people were rescued, including residents too. Shops in the century-old building were also gutted. There were about five hotels running in the building without proper sanctions of building plans or fire safety norms. The fire exit of Hotel Shikha Inn was not functional as another office was located there. With the fire brigade located in the vicinity, firemen arrived within two minutes of receiving information. However, it was too late, as there was no fire alarm, and the time of the fire meant many tourists were asleep and died due to asphyxiation. While the hotel owner, Bireswar Mitra, is absconding, the leaseholder, Abu Jafar, has been arrested.
Fifteen hotels in Tarapith were shut down on Tuesday for failing to meet fire safety norms after orders from the Rampurhat sub-divisional officer, citing Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's directions on no compromise on safety. There were no pollution and environmental clearances, fire safety certificates, or electricity-related clearances.
Sixteen hotels were shut down, nine guest houses, and four restaurants in the vicinity got notices from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the State Fire Department for inadequate fire safety norms and unsanctioned expansion of buildings.
The question is, when will lessons be learnt? Is it enough for Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul to say the erstwhile government and KMC did not do enough? Fingers also pointed to former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim. It is pertinent to question how trade licences were issued without proper safety checks in place. But by setting up probe committees and ordering commercial establishments to shut and submit explanations for defying safety norms, does the buck just stop there? What are the corrective measures taken for these commercial establishments to reopen? Will there be an ongoing probe beyond the 16 probe committees in 16 boroughs under KMC, set up by the Kolkata Municipal Commissioner? What happens to commercial establishments in other districts apart from Birbhum?
There are tinderboxes in the name of commercial establishments, and a gradual overhaul in adhering to safety norms is required to establish that the present government means business beyond the portrayal of momentary concerns.
