Star hotels not fire-safe

Hyderabad ,March 25: At least five star hotels in the city such as Taj Banjara, Mariott, Golconda at Masab Tank, Green Park and Amruta Castle opposite Secretariat are yet to obtain the No Objection Certificates (NOC) from the state fire and emergency department.According to fire department officials, they only have the provisional NOC, which was issued during the construction of the hotels.“We had suggested some basic fire norms to them to abide for the provisional NOC,” said the district fire officer, Mr P.V. Ramana.

“The fire NOC is required if the hotels have to apply for further upgradation,” said Mr Ramana.Officials said these hotels did apply for a fire NOC in the last two years but they were turned down due to lack of sufficient information related to fire safety measures in the hotels.“We had asked them to furnish sufficient information based on which we will conduct our inspections and if deemed fit, they will be provided the certificates,” added Mr Ramana.

Officials also mentioned that the hotel managements have been served notices to apply for the NOC’s at the earliest.According to rule, every hotel must have at least three fire extinguishers on its premises and a proper emergency exit.“We will ensure that the hotels obtain the required certificates from the concerned department at the earliest,” said Mr Pradeep Dutt, the secretary general of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Andhra Pradesh.