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Ten months after blaze, Karol Bagh guest houses much safer
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
It took ten months, 17 lives and a massive fire at a guest house for government agencies to step up fire safety regulations at central Delhi’s Karol Bagh.
Hindustan Times on Monday conducted a spot check of Karol Bagh — where a pre-dawn blaze on February 12 this year — had prompted Delhi government to notify amendments to the building bylaws to strengthen fire safety norms in the national capital.
While dangling wires outside buildings and cramped passageways, especially in backalleys, were red flags in some of the properties, in six of the ten guesthouses visited by HT on Monday, the reception desk had fire safety pamphlets for guests and extinguishers hanging in the hallway. In three guesthouses, smoke detectors were also seen in the roof of common area.
Shop owners and regular visitors at the market said that after the fire, inspections by local municipality and Delhi government officials had been stepped up and has been happening regularly. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s redevelopment plan for Karol Bagh market has also helped the area remain in the centre of police and civic agency’s attention.
“Inspections have been happening and the north corporation has been paying special focus on hotels and guesthouses. It has certainly earned the trust of locals but we will have to see for how long this action continues,” said Srikant Tiwari, a resident of Karol Bagh, who also owns a shop in the market.
Apart from the amendments to building bylaws — that prohibited kitchens or cooking activity in any form on rooftops or basements of buildings, and storage of inflammable materials or temporary roofing in terraces — the Delhi government last month also constituted a sub-committee consisting members from Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services (DFS), government and experts to review the state of guesthouses and eateries in the area.
The committee has been asked to submit its report and recommendations by February.
Daljit Chadha, president of Lodging House Owners Association, who is also the member of this sub-committee, said that after the Arpit Hotel Palace fire all guesthouses and lodges were mandatorily asked to install exhaust fans to ensure cross ventilation in case of a fire, set up fully automatically pressure pumps that sprinkle water as soon as smoke is detected and fire proof doors to ensure speedy evacuation.
“All the guidelines given to us were followed. The only installation left are smoke detectors, which were not compulsory earlier but now owners are installing it,” Chadha said.
After the fire in Hotel Arpit Palace, over 100 guesthouses were sealed in Karol Bagh and Paharganj for violation of fire safety norms. Though a lot of good work has been done to improve safety in the central Delhi market, many said that the agencies are only reacting to the fire incident and not truly working towards making the market safe.
“All the focus is on small guesthouses. But what about the state of the entire market? The fire occurred in a guesthouse so all the focus is on these establishments. We need a comprehensive fire safety plan for the entire market,” said Karol Bagh’s Delhi Hotel and Restaurant Owner Association president Balan Mani.
