Latest news with #HotelRituraj
Business Upturn
03-05-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
LMNOQ, Drunken Teddy, Scrapyard among 83 Kolkata rooftop eateries facing demolition and closure — here's why
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has intensified its fire safety drive, issuing notices to 83 rooftop restaurants and hotels across the city for violations. The crackdown follows the recent fire at Hotel Rituraj in Burrabazar, which claimed multiple lives and triggered widespread scrutiny of rooftop setups. Among the well-known establishments under the KMC radar are: LMNOQ, Drunken Teddy, Golden Park, Zyka, Scrapyard, Club Aeries, Haji Saheb, and Aauris Hotel. The notices issued instruct owners to: Immediately stop all ongoing construction work Cease any current operations Demolish unauthorized structures atop their buildings View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taaza TV (@taazatvchannel) Importantly, some hotels operate both terrace and indoor dining, so only the rooftop sections will be affected, while operations on permitted floors can continue. However, restaurants that operate 100% from rooftop setups may be forced to shut down completely unless they comply with the structural and safety norms. This move is part of a wider campaign by the KMC in coordination with fire services and police to ensure fire safety compliance in commercial spaces, especially in high-density zones like Park Street, Topsia, and central Kolkata. Aditya Bhagchandani serves as the Senior Editor and Writer at Business Upturn, where he leads coverage across the Business, Finance, Corporate, and Stock Market segments. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to journalistic integrity, he not only contributes insightful articles but also oversees editorial direction for the reporting team.
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Kolkata hotel fire: Owner, manager held, probe panel to submit report in 15 days
Kolkata: The owner and manager of Hotel Rituraj in central Kolkata, where a fire broke out on Tuesday night killing at least 14 people, including two children, and injuring over a dozen, were arrested on Thursday, police said. The hotel's owner, Akash Chawla, and manager, Gaurav Kapoor, were arrested following an FIR registered by Kolkata Police on Wednesday. 'We have charged the hotel authorities under relevant sections, including culpable homicide not amounting murder, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita and the Fire Services Act,' a police officer said. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, has set up a committee headed by state urban development minister Firhad Hakim to check the fire fighting systems in hotels, malls and markets across the state and submit a report within 15 days. 'Make surprise visits and check details (fire-fighting systems). I want a report within 15 days. No combustible materials such as plastic and chemicals should be stored in shops and shopping malls. The fire-fighting system should be checked regularly. If there are multiple gas cylinders, the fire spreads fast. There are areas where the fire tenders can't enter. I am giving 15 days' time,' Banerjee said. At least 10 fire tenders were deployed after the fire broke out around 8.20 pm on the first floor of the six-storey hotel on Madan Mohan Burman Street. Also Read: Kolkata: At least 14 persons, including 2 children, killed in hotel fire One hotel-staff, identified as Manoj Paswas, died after he jumped from one of the floors. 'Autopsies of the bodies revealed that in most cases deaths were caused by asphyxia, due to inhalation of carbon soot and in at least two cases thermal burn injuries,' the officer said. Banerjee, who visited the spot, said the hotel's fire-fighting system was allegedly defunct. 'Most of the people died not because of the blaze, but because of the smoke. There was no mechanism for the smoke to escape. The fire-fighting system was defunct. There were pipes but there was no water. There was a staircase but it couldn't be used while people were trying to escape. Two people got trapped in the staircase and died. Police and fire-brigade could save around 90 people through an adjacent building using ladders,' Banerjee added. The Kolkata police have set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the case. Also Read:Kolkata hotel fire eyewitnesses recount harrowing ordeal Preliminary investigations revealed that the hotel, which had been operating since 1989, had a fire safety clearance that expired in 2022 and was not renewed thereafter. 'As most of the victims were from other states, the state administration are making flight arrangements to send their bodies to their home-state after the postmortem. The administration would also issue the death certificates,' an officer said. Raising concern about the several dilapidated buildings in the Burrabazar area that are still occupied by residents, Banerjee said, 'The civic body has sent them notices to vacate the building. The residents are, however, not moving out. I would ask the police, fire brigade and Kolkata municipal corporation (KMC) to hold a meeting with the locals so that the buildings could be repaired and renovated. Safety and security are foremost.' The SIT and forensic team also visited the hotel on Thursday to collect samples from the spot. Also Read:4 killed after fire breaks out in Ajmer hotel, 5 critical The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, alleged that the fire which killed 14 people was due to the 'gross negligence' of the state government and the city's civic body.' 'I demand a high-level, transparent probe to uncover the lapses that led to this tragedy and to hold all responsible accountable, be it negligent officials, complicit inspectors, or the hotel management. The State's failure to prioritize public safety cannot be swept under the rug by putting the entire blame on the Hotel Management, by treating them as scapegoats,' BJP legislator and leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari wrote on X.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Time of India
Stopovers, brief stays turned fatal, rue kin & friends of guests who choked to death
Kolkata: Manoj Patra (43) from Jagatsinghpur in Odisha was supposed to catch a bus to Bihar on Wednesday morning, said his family friend Mahendra Pandey outside the NRS morgue on Wednesday afternoon while waiting for Patra's body. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He, along with Dusmanta Nayak (46) and Dusmanta Kumar Swain (46), both from Haripapa village, checked into the hotel on Tuesday as a stopover before taking the bus to Purnia to attend the inauguration of a wheat mandi. The trio were among 14 people who lost their lives. "I received a phone call from my friend saying that his cousin is no more. There was a fire and his body is at NRS. The family was still in shock and took a train to Kolkata. I reached the morgue to ensure that the process for his body release can at least start," Pandey said. Two of Patra's relatives reached the morgue by afternoon, but they wished not to speak to media. Like Pandey, many local friends came to help the families of those who choked to death at Hotel Rituraj on Tuesday. Kolkata resident Narayan Agarwal rushed to the spot after hearing about the fire where his friend Rajesh Kumar Santuka (61) checked in on Monday. Santuka's body was kept at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. A businessman by profession, Santuka reached the hotel at 6:30 pm after a busy day. He was due to catch a train from Howrah at 8:30 pm. "He went to the hotel to get some rest and was perhaps asleep when the fire broke out. I tried calling him, but his phone was switched off. That's when I rushed to the spot," his friend said. The family reached Kolkata from Cuttack early on Wednesday morning. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Another Kolkata resident, Prabhu Ram, a friend of deceased Manoj Kumar Paswan, said, "I have known him for more than two decades as we were neighbours. On Monday, we went to offer prayers at a Shiv temple and distributed prasad among friends. Who knew it would be my last meeting with him?" While friends and families spoke about the probable activities of their loved ones on the fateful night, two friends, Siddharth Sharma and Sahil Agarwal, remembered the helplessness they felt at not being able to rescue their 29-year-old friend Niraj Kumar, who was inside the hotel. While Siddharth and Sahil were leaving the hotel to buy something, they detected smoke and stepped outside the hotel to assess the situation. They tried contacting their friend, who was inside at the time, but could not save him. His family members arrived in Kolkata to collect his body from RG Kar on Wednesday. (With inputs from Subhojyoti Kanjilal)
