DELHI WORRIED AS RESTAURANTS, PUBS VIOLATE FIRE SAFETY NORMS

DIBYENDU Questions are being raised about Delhi’s preparedness to host the umpteen New Year’s Eve parties on Sunday, post Mumbai’s Kamala Mills fire, which took 14 lives at an upscale pub on the intervening night of Thursday-Friday. Concerns are being raised about similar commercial complexes that are functioning without security and fire clearances in Delhi.

The national capital will host a number of parties over the weekend, most of which are being organised at cafés and clubs frequented by a young crowd. Lack of concern in monitoring commercial spaces has turned these areas into ticking bombs waiting to burst. Authorities in Delhi are trying their best to ensure that no calamities befall the city on Sunday night-Monday early morning.

To take stock of the situation, The Sunday Guardian visited some of the most popular party haunts in Delhi to see whether the existing structures were equipped with proper fire safety measures. Hauz Khas Village, one of the most popular party spots for the national capital’s young crowd, is teeming with cafés and pubs that have been opened randomly in already dilapidated structures, posing great threats to the safety of partygoers.

Most of the cafés have been built without proper planning, often rising several storeys, one on top of the other. The venues have narrow