KMC to conduct surprise checks on rooftop restaurants for fire safety and SOP compliance

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will conduct a surprise visit to ascertain whether rooftop restaurants in the city are operating by following the standard operating procedure (SOP), including fire safety norms. As many as 21 among 83 such restaurants had submitted an undertaking to the civic body before the pujas and had opened their gates.

A senior KMC official said that they want to find out whether those rooftop restaurants that have not submitted any undertaking ahead of the pujas have been operational or not. At the end of August, KMC had announced a standard operating procedure (SOP) for rooftop restaurants, allowing those that were shut down to reopen before Durga Puja, provided they sign an indemnity bond and comply with fire safety norms. Under the guidelines, rooftop cafes were permitted to use only 50 per cent of the terrace area, while the other half remained clear to serve as an emergency passage.

“If, during inspection, any rooftop café is found operational, ignoring the SOP, strong action will be taken. They were given permission to open, adhering to the SOP on humanitarian ground, so that they can do business during Durga Puja. But, we will act tough if we find any deviations,” said a senior KMC official.

A team has been constituted with manpower from KMC, Kolkata Police, and state Fire and Emergency Services department, and the surprise visit will start very soon.

“We will check whether staircases are blocked, as we had made it clear that they need to be kept open 24x7 so people can escape either to the roof or to the exit point. We will further examine whether gas cylinders or open flames are being used at rooftop eateries. Only electrical appliances such as microwave ovens and heaters may be used,” said the official.

The rooftop eateries were closed after the Burrabazar hotel fire, in which 14 lives were lost.