Are Khan Market’s Posh Eateries Flouting Basic Fire Safety Norms?
After Kamala Mills in Mumbai and Kailash Bar and Restaurant in Bengaluru, Is Delhi’s Khan Market safe?
The tony Khan Market area has been housing an embarrassing secret for long, for which it has been hauled up many times: Failing to comply with even basic safety measures, most of its chic pubs/restaurants are grossly unprepared to tackle fire-related hazards.
The fears have been further exacerbated after the Kamala Mills tragedy, and the recent fire at a Bengaluru bar.
One visit to the middle lane of Khan Market is enough to make anyone understand that in case a fire breaks out in this chaotic gully, it will be next to impossible for a fire tender to enter the serpentine lanes.
The rule that a minimum margin width of six metres be kept in front of restaurants is clearly not implemented in Khan Market, with encroachments and whatnot eating up the bare minimum space.
Many of these restaurants don’t even have the mandatory emergency fire exit. Several of them take refuge in the fact that since they are 48-seater restaurants ON PAPER, they are in no obligation to procure fire safety certificates from the fire department.
But isn’t the best hospitality one that never fails to think of the safety of its patrons? After all, it would be a shame to not learn any lessons after the Kamala Mills tragedy.
Video Editor: Kunal Mehra
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