Kolkata: State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim on Monday said that the state government will soon introduce a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) not only for rooftop restaurants but also for schools, hospitals and markets.
Hakim made the announcement while chairing the second meeting of the special task force formed under the direction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to frame a policy aimed at preventing fire incidents in the city.
In the first meeting, held on May 28, Hakim asked all the different departments, including Housing, Panchayats and Rural Development, Disaster Management, Fire and Emergency Services and Police, to provide suggestions for the prevention of fire.
All the departments concerned have submitted their inputs, which will be compiled to create a consolidated SOP.
“We will make a compilation of all and will send it to the state government. We will act as per the directions of the state,” Hakim added.
Hakim said that the KMC has already started the hearing associated with three rooftop restaurants as per the directions of the Calcutta High Court. “We will prepare an SOP based on the outcome of the hearing which will be applicable for all rooftops. There will be no discrimination,” said the Mayor, adding that the SOP will be sent to the state government, and following approval, it will be made public.
The Mayor declined to divulge details of the suggestions received but reiterated that the proposed SOP would place strong emphasis on conducting fire audits. Alongside Hakim, the meeting was attended by state Housing minister Aroop Biswas, Panchayats and Rural Development minister Pradip Mazumdar, Fire and Emergency Services minister Sujit Bose and Disaster Management minister Javed Khan.
The KMC, the police and the fire services had inspected 83 restaurants in the city and issued ‘stop operation’ notices to all of them.
The crackdown on rooftop restaurants, bars and cafes came after Mayor Firhad Hakim announced on May 2 that the city’s rooftop cafes, lounges, bars and restaurants would be shut down.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited the fire-ravaged Rituraj Hotel site in central Calcutta, where 14 people died on April 29, and asked the business community to follow fire safety norms or face government action.