Siliguri, Jan. 1: Hotel owners here said they could not say if lodges in town were conforming to fire safety norms and after yesterday's blaze in Yatri Hotel that killed two youths, there was a need to verify if commercial buildings had proper equipment and take up sensitisation drives for employees.

'We have around 200 members and we always insist that they follow all safety norms. But after yesterday's incident, we need to verify as we cannot say that all hotels are complying with the rules and have proper fire safety equipment and arrangements,' said Krishna Chandra Ghosh, the general secretary of Greater Siliguri Hoteliers' Welfare Association. 'The incident has acted as an eye-opener and we will soon hold a meeting and ask the members to follow the norms. It has become clear that keeping fire safety equipment in hotels is not enough. There should be people who can use the equipment during hours of crisis. We will take up a sensitisation drive for employees.'

A senior official of the state fire services said although five employees were present at the hotel (Yatri) when the fire broke out, 'they were so dazed that they did not even use the extinguishers or the pipe to arrest the flames. This is because of lack of sensitisation among hotel employees who seem to lose their nerves under such circumstances.'

Mani Chhetri, the owner of Yatri Hotel, who was arrested yesterday by Pradhannagar police following a complaint lodged by officials of Siliguri fire station, was produced in the additional chief judicial magistrate's court here today. He has been booked under Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of IPC and the West Bengal Fire Service Act, 1950. He has been remanded in police custody for three days. 'He will be produced in court again on January 4,' Dinanath Mohanta, the assistant public prosecutor, said.

North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb, who visited Yatri Hotel yesterday, said: 'Hotels in Siliguri accommodate thousands of tourists every year. At a time the state government is promoting tourism in the region, we cannot afford to have such incidents because of fallacy of some people or non-compliance of norms. There can be accidents like fire but there has to be an arrangement in each hotel to tackle it, at least initially, so that boarders can be saved. We will hold a meeting and review the situation.'

Yesterday's incident has once again raised the long-standing demand for a joint monitoring committee of officials and experts from different departments - a plan discussed three years ago after an earthquake in north Sikkim rocked the region. 'It seems the state and the district administration have not learnt lessons. After the earthquake, elaborate statements were made by north Bengal development minister that a joint monitoring committee would be formed to keep tabs on commercial and domestic buildings, particularly multi-storied buildings,' former minister and CPM leader Asok Bhattacharya said.

Asked about the need to form a joint monitoring committee, Deb said: 'The primary responsibility was with the former civic board which hardly took any initiative after the earthquake. We are aware that the number of multi-storied buildings is increasing in and around town. The issue of joint monitoring mechanism would also be discussed at the meeting.'

An official of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation said: 'After the earthquake, there was a lukewarm response from the administration, probably because such a joint monitoring committee is not recommended by law. It is the need of the hour to keep a check on buildings and have a common platform of experts who provide licences and permissions.'