RESTAURANTS EXPLOIT LEGAL LOOPHOLE, AGENCIES LAX
According to a news report last year, the then Lieutenant Governor, Najeeb Jung, had given a go-ahead to the amendment to the Delhi building bylaws, to make it mandatory for all restaurants to get a fire NOC but it never happened. So, in Delhi, barely 400 restaurants with a declared seating arrangement over 50 have the document.
“Hauz Khas Village has 70-80 restaurants and most of them accommodate over 50 people, but only four of them have fire NOCS. The situation is better in Connaught Place where 114 restaurants and pubs have NOCS,” said Garg.
Naresh Kumar, NDMC chairman, said a team was constituted late last week to conduct “secret and surprise checks” at restaurants and pubs flouting the law in markets in the Lutyens’ Zone.
In any case, most of the buildings from which the restaurants operate were never designed to serve as eateries, said Arunava Dasgupta, head of urban design at School of Planning and Architecture.
“These spaces are retrofitted. For example, many of them are not equipped to run commercial kitchens. In an emergency, guests would have no exit. The structure cannot be changed now, but the constraints should be dealt with,” said Dasgupta.
He said the buildings in Hauz Khas Village were most danger- Restaurants without fire NOC accommodate guests more than they are legally allowed to Eateries with NOCS often keep the emergency exits locked
Fire extinguishers are not easy to spot. Restaurant employees are not trained to use them A narrow and steep staircase is often the sole entry and exit points in many eateries
In pubs and discotheques, the light is usually dim and sound too loud to alert guests in an emergency
Streets leading to some upscale eateries are not wide enough for the fire tenders
Several restaurant owners exploit the rule that joints with seating capacity up to 50 does not require an NOC by fire department. They claim to have fewer seats, but serve to packed capacity, said a DCP.
ous due to different designs of all structures. “There has been ad-hoc construction in the village. Multiple builders were involved. So, the vulnerability there is greater (compared to Khan Market and Connaught Place),” said Dasgupta.
Garg said pubs and discotheques are the most dangerous of the lot. “There is usually a single entry and exit point and that is often restricted. The light is dim, music is loud and most guests are drunk there. So, there is a high chance of stampede and casualties,” said Garg.
Atul Bhargava, president of New Delhi Traders Association, said if the owners fail to ensure safety they will lose business.