The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on Monday said it will ramp up advisories to members on complying with fire safety standards, while also setting up a committee to look into the same.
"We issue advisories very regularly and are in the process of devising another one, warning members against the harms of taking fire safety for granted. What happened in Goa was very unfortunate and has led to the loss of many lives, including those from the industry," Sagar Daryani, president of the NRAI and co-founder and CEO, Wow! Momo, told Business Standard.
The apex body of restaurant establishments in the country is also in the process of forming a small committee, almost like a task force that will work with members to identify gaps in fire safety adherence and help them fill these gaps, Daryani added.
The move comes after a nightclub in Goas Arpora caught fire on Saturday night, killing 25 people, including 20 staff members. According to reports, police officers stated that the venue was not complying with fire safety norms and did not have any fire emergency exit in the basement.
It is important to adhere to fire safety norms, which includes things like working fire extinguishers, wide staircases, and keeping second exits clear. However, these things are hardly followed through, said an industry executive who did not wish to be identified.
This is not the first such instance. In 2017, a blaze at a bar in Mumbais shopping and restaurant complex Kamala Mills killed 15 people. Recently, in Kolkata, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation ordered the closure of all rooftop restaurants in the city after a hotel fire claimed the lives of 14 people.
-- Akshara Srivastava, Business Standard