Cuttack: Prominent shopping malls and hotels in the city do not have "complete and comprehensive fire safety measures", official sources said on Sunday after inspections by the Odisha Fire Services.
Fire service officials conducted simultaneous inspections at 12 malls and hotels on Saturday. They found fixed fire fighting installations/extinguishers at a few places, but other necessary equipment were still to be installed, the sources said.
Besides, they found open spaces, corridors, and escape routes blocked, posing serious danger to life and property. The officials also found good housekeeping, which plays a vital role in fire safety, absent. Moreover, most of the shopping malls and hotels do not have adequate exit signage to lead occupants to safety in cases of emergency.
"We will shortly serve notices to the defaulting malls/hotels to fulfil the shortcomings within a specified time period. In case of non-compliance, we will take further legal action, including sealing of the premises," a fire services official said.
The 12 malls and hotels that the teams inspected are Hotel Pramod Convention and Resorts, Hotel Sital, Metro Bazar, Hotel Grand Residency, Big Bazar, Hotel Akbari Continental, Hotel Dwarika, Bazar Kolkata, Vishal Megamart, Bharatia Tower, Bazar India and Royal Tower.
"The objective of the inspection was to ensure safety of citizens and sensitise the owners and managers about their responsibility to ensure fire safety and remain prepared to avoid any mishap," the official said, on condition of anonymity.
Official sources said inspections revealed that a busy shopping mall had absolutely no fire protection measure with all exits blocked. In another case, a hotel's exit area was being used as a gas storage, while the basement of another mall was being used as a storage with no ventilation.
A high-end hotel was using its basement to store gas cylinders and another building approved for recreation was used to run a hotel. The staircase, landing and corridors of another shopping mall were blocked by clothes and basement used to store paper cartons and garbage.
