Fire crackdown squeezes Kolkata hotels

A crackdown on fire safety violations in Kolkata has further squeezed affordable accommodation for Bangladeshi visitors, particularly medical tourists, after the city’s civic authorities ordered the temporary closure of hundreds of hotels and guest houses.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has issued temporary closure notices to 919 hotels and guest houses for failing to meet mandatory fire safety requirements, officials said.

The action follows joint inspections by the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Department, KMC and Kolkata Police. Of the 960 hotels and guest houses inspected so far, only 41 were found to have complied with the required fire safety measures, according to officials.

The inspections were intensified after a fire at Shikha Inn, a guest house on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata, in the early hours of 19 August. The blaze killed nine people, including seven Bangladeshi nationals.

The mass closures could add to the difficulties faced by Bangladeshi medical tourists, many of whom travel to Kolkata for treatment as well as shopping.

Affordable hotels and guest houses have become increasingly difficult to find since the 19 August fire.
Hotels and guest houses issued with closure notices must upgrade their fire safety systems and obtain a renewed Fire Safety Certificate (RFSC) before applying for licences to resume operations, officials said.

The joint inspection teams have so far covered about 960 of Kolkata’s nearly 3,700 hotels and guest houses, or roughly one-quarter of the total.

Officials said inspections would continue at the remaining establishments.

The crackdown highlights the immediate impact of fire safety enforcement on accommodation availability for Bangladeshi visitors, while authorities seek to ensure greater safety standards in Kolkata’s hospitality sector following the fatal blaze.