149 eateries, banquet halls without fire safety certificates in Karnal district

Parveen Arora

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Karnal, April 4

As many as 149 hotels, restaurants, dhabas and banquet halls in the district are being operated without the essential fire safety certificates, posing a risk to public safety.

As per data collected from the Fire Department, there are a total of 171 such establishments in the district, but only 22 have obtained fire safety certificates.

Ram Kumar, sub-fire officer in Karnal, claimed that under the Haryana Fire Act, 2022, and the National Building Code (NBC) Regulations Part-IV-2016, fire safety measures are mandatory for these buildings to ensure compliance with the fire safety standards.

A year back, only five establishments had fire safety certificates, but after the department issued notices for nearly two times to all, an additional 17 have taken the certificates, taking the total to 22. The department is planning to launch a fresh campaign after the completion of the wheat harvesting season.

“We inspected all hotels, restaurants, banquet halls and dhabas a year ago. We found that only five had taken the requisite NOCs. In the past one year, 17 more have obtained the same. Fire safety certification is of utmost importance as fire puts the lives of people at risk and can damage the whole business if it breaks out. An NOC has to be renewed on an annual basis. We will again launch a fresh campaign after the wheat harvesting season, so that all these eateries will have the fire safety certificates for the safety of people,” said the sub-fire officer.

He said the fire safety equipment, including fire extinguishers, depending on the location and size, sprinkler systems, fire alarm system and evacuation routes were a must in these establishments. Two stairs are required if the hotel size is above 500 sq m, and one stair is required if the hotel size is below 500 sq m.

He stressed the importance of conducting fire risk assessments to identify potential hazards like faulty plug sockets and damaged kitchen appliances.