Although a revised rule of the State Government from 2017 has already been in force for safety from fire hazard, a number of shopping malls, private hospitals and clinical establishments besides hotels and guesthouses in Puri are blatantly violating the norms and endangering lives and properties.
Although the exact number of hotels and guesthouses lacking the fire safety rules is not known, that of mega shopping malls and business complexes is on the rise under the very nose of the administration.
The point of concern is that malls are operating without safety equipments though they are visited by thousands of customers on a daily basis. Especially the mega shops selling televisions, fridges, washing machines, air-conditioners and computers are more prone to fire due to use of plastics. Besides, there are many garment malls situated along the Badadanda not complying with fire safety rules.
It is alleged that all such malls are in an unholy nexus with Fire Services officials.
In January 2018, the Fire Services department had conducted raids in 12 hotels following a major fire in a hotel situated on VIP Road. Nearly a dozen of mega shops here shut down in fear of raids and legal actions. Particularly, near police line some mega shops selling home needs remained closed for weeks as they were not equipped with fire safety equipments.
