21-05-2025
Only 93 Lucknow hotels, restaurants fire-safe, rest all ticking bombs
Over the past few decades, the city's hospitality sector has seen a boom. While hotels are thriving, their unchecked growth didn't come without a cost.
While the official records put the number of establishments in the hospitality business in the city at 2,600, only 93 hotels, guest houses and restaurants possess a valid fire no-objection certificate (NOC), the state fire department's records say.
How these hotels are allowed to function without the required clearances remains a glaring question—one that reflects a serious lapse in regulation and enforcement.
The highest concentration of these unregulated hotels is located in Charbagh, Arya Nagar, Moti Nagar, Pandariba, Naka Hindola, Hussainganj and Lal Kuan. On this stretch, over 350 hotels and hundreds of restaurants function without fire safety clearances, the department says.
Not just that, but many of them also flout zoning laws and make the roads inaccessible for emergency services.
Common violations
Among the many rules that are not paid heed to, the most common is the presence of one gate that serves as both entrance and exit. Also, fire alarms, smoke detectors and proper ventilation are missing in many establishments.
Narrow staircases—sometimes just 3 feet wide—pose a serious evacuation risk. Electrical audits haven't been conducted for years in many buildings. Several lack even a basic water supply, let alone hydrants.
'Disaster' in waiting
In the Guru Nanak Market area, residential flats originally built for refugees have been illegally converted into hotels. These conversions often ignore building safety codes and fire prevention measures. Despite the blatant violations, authorities have failed to take meaningful action—allegedly due to the influence wielded by those running these hotels.
Many of these operators are said to be politically or financially well-connected.
In the densely populated localities of Charbagh, the risks are even more pronounced. Within just a two-kilometer radius, many of the hotels are tucked into narrow lanes with virtually no emergency access.
These hotels lack even fundamental safeguards such as proper exit routes, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, or adequate ventilation. Some hotels are situated in narrow lanes that no fire tender can enter.
Shyam Krishnani, the secretary of a city hotel association, said the regulatory bodies were failing to keep up with the growing number of hotels. 'It's not just about business anymore—it's about human lives. We need immediate and coordinated efforts from the fire department, municipal corporation, and the district administration to prevent the next disaster,' he said.
'Will cut power supply'
After issuing several warnings previously, the authorities continued to warn such establishments with licence cancellation and electricity supply disconnection.
City chief fire officer Mangesh Kumar said: 'The fire department will now be very strict. As many as 135 hotels have been issued notices [for not acquiring NOCs], and the department has recommended the cancellation of licences of 80 of them. Earlier, we used to send our reports to the administration for action, but we are now going to cut the power supply of these 80 hotels. We've also decided to cut the power supply to 73 nursing homes for violating fire norms. We've already discussed this with LESA, and the district administration has given us the green signal for action against the violators of fire safety norms.'
Meanwhile, district magistrate Vishakh G said: 'Sustained action against non-compliant hotels is required, including sealing their premises and revoking licenses. The fire department, LESA, municipal corporation and LDA must work in coordination.'
