Fire licence to get tougher with changes in law: Government

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government is bringing amendments to the West Bengal Fire Services Act, 1950 in order to curb incidents of fire in hotels, restaurants and bars in the state.

The amended law will make it tougher for these establishments to obtain licence from the fire department, which intends to make tough the process and ensure there isn’t the “slightest deficiency” in catering to the safety norms.

“Our aim is to prevent loss of life or property by bringing down the chances of fire. We are making amendments in Chapter IIIA of the West Bengal Fire Services Act, 1950 that deals with fire prevention and safety. We have already prepared the draft and had sent it to the Attorney General. After his approval, it will be forwarded to chief minister Mamata Banerjee,” a top official in the fire department said.

The official said hotels, bars and restaurants need to have two separate fire licenses for getting an NOC from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation: one for using gas ovens for cooking, and the second for infrastructure related to fire-fighting.

The department, charging them of irregularity, recently cancelled the licences of two leading restaurants — one serving Bengali cuisine at James Long Sarani in Behala and another in Collin Street that specialises in Biriyani and Mughlai dishes

“There was this rule that if a restaurant or a bar has more than one storey, then there needs to be staircases. However, as this was not mandatory, a good number of leading restaurants have flouted the rule. We will be making this mandatory,” the official added.

The department has formed a joint committee both in the city level and the district level that will see to it  that all hotels and restaurants have the safety and security measures in place.