Kolkata: KMC has inspected more than 1,000 hotels and guest houses since the Aug 19 fire at a Free School Street hotel that killed nine people. Of these establishments, only 42 have been allowed to remain open. The rest have been shut for failing to comply with fire safety norms.Several owners of closed hotels and guest houses have been visiting KMC headquarters, urging civic officials to allow them to reopen. They have been asked to apply in a prescribed format after taking adequate fire safety measures.“We have so far received applications from owners of 50 hotels and guest houses. We are scanning these applications and will send our team of officials to the spot to check on the ground what kind of improvements in fire safety have taken place. If our team of inspectors is satisfied with the upgrade, we may give consent for reopening,” said a KMC buildings department official.KMC administrator Smita Pandey said civic officials were surprised to find that most of the closed hotels and guest houses had been operating without valid documents.“It is a matter of concern that the guest houses and hotels that we have closed were not following basic fire safety norms. Now we will give them a chance to rectify. But our drive against such unauthorized and unsafe hotels and guest houses will continue,” Pandey said.On Wednesday, a KMC team, along with officials from the fire services department and power utility CESC, inspected guest houses near several private hospitals in Mukundapur off EM Bypass.Akash Maiti, manager of Ichhamoti Hotel on Marquis Street, said the establishment had appealed to the authorities for reinspection and reconsideration. The hotel is located inside a residential building where seven other hotels have been shut by the fire department and KMC.“This is the peak business period for our industry. During the pujas, a large number of tourists from Bangladesh, Nepal and other parts of India come here to shop. We are suffering a huge setback because of the closure,” Maiti said.Ichhamoti Hotel has 11 AC rooms carved out of a 2,600 sq ft flat.Gulistan Guest House, which has about 30 rooms on a portion of the first floor at 30F Mirza Ghalib Street, was among the first establishments to be shut after failing a fire inspection the day after the hotel blaze.“We have fire alarms, smoke detectors and other necessary fire safety measures, including an emergency exit and refuge areas. But despite that, our hotel has been shut for three weeks now. We have appealed to the joint agencies again, pleading with them to allow us to reopen our business with fresh guidelines. We will stick to all fire norms,” said proprietor Rifat Khan.
