Kolkata New Market Seals 11 Hotels Over Safety Rules

Kolkata administration has ordered 11 hotels in the New Market area to shut down and empty the premises within 24 hours. A joint team of the municipal corporation, fire department, and police conducted a major inspection drive on Friday.

Action Taken After Safety Inspection

Authorities checked the fire safety systems and required permissions of multiple hotels during the inspection. Officials found that many hotels were running without proper licenses and necessary approvals. Guests staying in these hotels were asked to leave immediately.

Reasons For Hotel Closures

The surprise checks revealed major gaps in fire safety arrangements across the inspected properties. While some hotels had small fire extinguishers, they lacked large-scale fire fighting setups. Issues like broken water pumps, missing pipelines, and unusable water lines were discovered during the checks.

Show Cause Notices Issued To More Hotels

Hotel owners were earlier sent show cause notices on Thursday due to safety violations. The strict action on Friday followed after authorities received no satisfactory replies. Additionally, 17 other hotels in the area received show cause notices on Friday with a 24-hour deadline to reply.