Brisk business but risky business. While it is all fun but how safe are bar and restaurants in Visakhapatnam anyways?
Learning from example of fires in Visakhapatnam in the past, one would expect those in the hospitality industry would be wiser. Apparently not!! The facilities for emergency and safety protocol has been found to be gravely deficient in Visakhapatnam’s various bar-cum-restaurants. Functioning with or without a NOC, these joints all over town have been found to be playing with great risk.
Reported by Deccan Chronicle, about 88 bars and restaurants in the city and around 90 per cent of them were functioning without the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire department.
Apart from the safety norms to ensure safe enjoyment of customers, the equipment is sadly short of sufficient. As per reports these people who run the establishments have been flouting fire safety norms and had no fire extinguishers. While doing good business, there is gross oversight to these details. Missed on a good day, these are bound to cost lives and property on a chance bad day. A hazard which no one would like to risk.
What comes as a bigger shocker is the fact that it is not just the smaller to medium establishments that are guilty but also star hotels and establishments of repute. Regional fire officer G. Srinivasulu said that with the support of the fire safety wing of GVMC, inspections would be conducted soon across all bars and restaurants in the city and notices would be issued to those violating norms. An inspection of facilities across 27 hotels revealed 12 did not have the safety protocol or equipment in place.
Reprimand and a stern warning has already been issued but what about those that are yet to come into the light. The management of these bar and restaurant establishments must take it upon themselves to cater for and ensure adherence to safety standards. Keeping in mind, the added risk of dealing with perishables and inflammable products, both standards and equipment in place is a must.
Resource – Deccan Chronicle
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