Kolkata, Aug 19 (IANS) An officer of the fire department has been suspended in connection with the recent fire incident at a hotel in Birbhum district’s Tarapith, which claimed nine lives.
Abhay Chowdhury, as a fire station officer, had given clearance to the ‘Bideshini’ hotel in Tarapith after inspecting its firefighting system. To prevent such incidents from recurring in the future, the Birbhum district administration held a meeting with the hotel owners in Bolpur on Wednesday.
According to an official in the administration, when Abhay Chowdhury was the fire station officer at Tarapith, a ‘fire audit’ was conducted at a hotel not far from the police station. After the fire incident on Monday, questions have been raised about the firefighting system of that hotel. In this context, Abhay, who is currently working at the Sainthia Fire Station in Birbhum district, has been suspended.
Bolpur’s Additional Superintendent of Police, Manabendra Das; Bolpur Police Station Inspector-in-Charge, Sudipto Mukherjee; Bolpur Subdivision Police Officer, Arpit R Parekh; and officials of the fire department were present in the meeting with hotel owners and managers.
According to the official, every hotel in Bolpur has been instructed to strictly follow the fire safety guidelines. It has been asked to ensure that the hotels have the necessary documents, fire extinguishing systems, and important equipment related to ‘fire safety’ in place. It has also been informed that the hotels will be inspected in the coming days. If any negligence or defect in the safety system is found at that time, legal action will be taken against the concerned hotel owner or authorities.
On Tuesday, the Birbhum District Administration in West Bengal ordered the closure of 15 hotels adjacent to the iconic Goddess Tara Temple at Tarapith for an indefinite period following the devastating fire at one hotel, Bideshini, on Monday.
The district administration issued the notice soon after police arrested the hotel’s main owner, Probir Paul. On Monday, police also arrested his son and co‑owner, Kalyan Paul.
Till Monday evening, eight people were reportedly killed in the fire mishap, of whom five were from the same family from Meghalaya who came to Tarapith to offer Puja at the iconic Goddess Tara temple there.
On Monday night, another person named Rajesh Sharma, a resident of Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri district in North Bengal, who was under treatment at the local Rampurhat Government Medical College and Hospital, also died, taking the death toll to nine.
–IANS
sch/uk