After fatal Mumbai fire, special drive launched in Park Street

Kolkata: In the wake of the Mumbai fire incident at Kamala Mills compound that snuffed out 14 lives on Thursday night, the state Fire and Emergency department is leaving no stone unturned to prevent such incidents in the city with the onset of the New Year.

The state Fire department embarked on a special drive at Park Street area where a large number of people come for celebrations on December 31 evening.

The team of senior officials visited a number of hotels and restaurants on Park Street and spoke to the owners to ensure that they have the necessary fire safety measures in place.

"There will be stand-by-teams with fire tenders at certain strategic locations and our motorcycle team with firefighting equipment will undertake total area surveillance from 4 pm till 2 am on December 31," a senior Fire department official said.

It may be mentioned that the team also instructed the hotel staff regarding how to undertake rapid evacuation in case of any fire incident.

Officials from the Narcotics Control Bureau have recently held a meeting with nightclub owners and have urged them to ensure strict vigil so that nobody is allowed to enter with any sort of drugs. "If anyone is caught with any sort of drugs in their possession then the NCB will take action as per law against the pub owner too," a senior NCB official said.

The police will take strong action against drunken and rough driving and also will act tough against bikers who ride without helmets.

There will be as many as 20 watchtowers on Park Street and its adjacent areas and a good number of police assistance booths with as many as 20 pickets in the city. Senior officials will be on the streets both on December 31 and New Year's day.

"On January 1, there will be three Deputy Commissioners, 22 Assistant Commissioners, 70 Inspectors, 444 Sub-Inspectors, 1969 policemen and 231 female police personnel who will be deployed in Park Street and its adjoining areas of the city," a senior police official said.

The police have collected detailed information about bouncers employed at different nightclubs and have instructed the concerned persons to ensure that CCTV cameras in and outside the premises of pubs and night clubs are in the best of the condition.

"We have taken all security measures to ensure that December 31 and January 1 pass off peacefully," a senior Kolkata Police official said.