According to reports, of the over 5,000 big and small restaurants that don the length and breadth of the city, mere 400 have the mandatory fire clearance.
Restaurants in the national Capital have regularly invited ire of the fire department for grossly violating safety norms. They have alleged that most of them get away with violations because rarely an establishment is inspected physically to detect them. Meanwhile, restaurateurs have the staid rhetoric of not flouting any rules and unnecessary harassment at the hands of officials.
According to reports, of the over 5,000 big and small restaurants that don the length and breadth of the city, mere 400 have the mandatory fire clearance. Most of them seek a go-ahead under the rule that exempts outlets with a seating capacity of up to 50 from taking fire clearance. Officials claim that they have issued more than 4,500 licences to restaurants showing a seating for 48-49 people. Markets like Khan Market, Hauz Khas, Connaught Place, Rajouri Garden that are already bursting at the seams, disasters are waiting to happen as most of them do not have requisite fire safety measurements in place.
Old structures along with the lack of proper entry and exit points are hazardous during any kind of eventuality. Narrow stairs leading to rooftops also qualifies as a violation.
Fire officials have also found during surprise raids that most of the establishments continue to use expired clearance certificates, which is as per rule, to be renewed every three years. Owners, on the other hand, maintain that they have "never flouted" rules, and follow all the important guidelines.
Umang Tewari, a prominent restauranteur says, "We definitely follow fire guidelines. Fire incidents are accidents and it can happen anytime. It simply does not mean we should be blamed for it. The fact is that in process of opening restaurants, there are so many guidelines that without the clearance of tests at each phase, we practically can't open an outlet."
LOOPHOLES
Of the over 5,000 big and small restaurants that don the length and breadth of the city, mere 400 have fire clearance. Most of them seek a go-ahead under the rule that exempts outlets with a seating capacity of up to 50 from taking fire clearance.
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