Puri: In the wake of a fire incident at Pride Ananya Resort here Tuesday, concerns have been raised regarding lack of safety measures at most of the hotels, lodging houses and holiday homes in the Holy City.
Since the district administration and the Fire Services department have been unconcerned in this context, most of the hoteliers and lodging house owners in the city have shown their disinterest in installing proper fire safety measures.
As per the Tourism department data, the city, a popular tourist destination, has a total of 540 hotels and holiday homes. Sources, however, peg the number at 800.
Sources also claim that barring a few big hotels and resorts a majority of them do not have fire safety measures. Some hoteliers have installed safety measures, but the same have become a show piece due to lack of periodic maintenance.
Then there are scores of hotels and holiday homes that are inaccessible to fire engines due to their location in residential areas with narrow lanes.
Besides, the Fire Services department in the district does not have required equipment to deal with a blaze in multi-storey buildings.
According to sources, a timely alert and quick response from the firemen had prevented any casualty when a fire broke out at a utility store of Pride Ananya Resort around 6pm Tuesday. Sources in the Fire Services department claimed that the resort, located at VIP Road, did have fire safety measures, but there was no trained manpower to manage them.
Apart from the hotels and lodging houses, most of the multi-storey shopping malls, market complexes, educational institutions and hospitals are yet to install fire safety systems. Even, a seven-storey maternity and childcare centre at the district headquarters hospital lacks fire safety measures, sources added.
“The district administration and the Fire Services department should ensure fire safety measures in hotels and multi-storey malls and hospitals. The tourism sector will be the first victim if something unpleasant happens in any of the holiday homes,” said a social activist.
PNN
