Gujarat: Ahmedabad civic body cracks down on fire safety breaches, seals six hotels

Ahmedabad, June 18 (IANS) Six hotels in Ahmedabad have been sealed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) after failing to rectify serious fire safety deficiencies despite being given a week to comply with notices issued by authorities, officials said.

The action was carried out jointly by the Fire and Emergency Services Department and the Estate Department of AMC’s North West Zone on the night of June 16 as part of efforts to ensure strict adherence to fire and life safety standards across the city, officials added on Wednesday.

According to AMC, Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services had conducted inspections of various hotels and commercial establishments to assess their fire safety arrangements.

During these inspections, officials identified serious shortcomings in essential fire safety facilities at a number of hotels.

The managements concerned were subsequently served notices and directed to undertake the necessary corrective measures within one week.

However, after the expiry of the stipulated deadline, authorities found that the required work had not been completed. As a result, six hotels were sealed for non-compliance with mandatory fire safety provisions.

The establishments sealed include Hotel Royal Square, Hotel 4 Food and Hotel Capression, located on SG Highway in Thaltej ward. Apollo Hotel and Hotel Grant Inn in Bodakdev ward were also sealed, along with Hotel Lake Inn on Gurukul Road in the Vastrapur area.

The Fire Department said the hotels had been given verbal instructions on several occasions in addition to written notices.

Despite these warnings, the operators failed to comply with the essential fire safety requirements.

“Serious deficiencies had been found in the fire safety facilities of the establishments during inspections and the hotels had not completed the required corrective measures even after being granted time to do so,” officials said.

The department also said that the sealing action had been implemented under the provisions relating to fire prevention and life safety in Gujarat after the establishments failed to fulfil the mandatory requirements.

The department also appealed to operators of all hotels, commercial complexes and public-use buildings in Ahmedabad to strictly comply with prescribed fire safety rules and standards.

“Stringent action against violations would continue in the future, sending what officials described as a clear message that non-compliance with fire safety regulations would not be tolerated,” they said.

The enforcement action forms part of AMC’s ongoing efforts to strengthen compliance with fire safety norms and reduce risks to public safety in commercial and public-use buildings across the city.

–IANS

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