wok in the clouds have been shut eateries in these areas share a single narrow entryexit stairway that would make it difficult for people to escape in case of an accident the petition also said the bylanes in these areas especially in khan market are too narrow for fire trucks a restaurant pub or banquet should be located on lower floors ideally on the ground first or second floor to allow easy evacuation in case of an emergency said manoj daisaria architect and former president of practicing engineers architects and town planners association of india peata india if it is on the rooftop a second staircase should be made mandatory exit routes need to be marked clearly and should be free of encumbrances however the recent civic activity belies evident systemic lapses a letter seen by et shows that bmc officials had given a clean chit to the kamala mills compound middecember saying there was no illegal construction in the area the crackdown in new delhi is also unlikely to have a lasting impact we believe this will be a temporary measure and business will resume as the government will realise how much these areas contribute to taxes said a manager at an eatery in central delhi for many restaurants in connaught place terrace services have already resumed in bengaluru bbmp officials are themselves sceptical about the legality of rooftop pubs and restaurants a health officer under whom 49 closure notices were issued last week said his department never considered the building plan while issuing trade licences to pubs in the past electricity bills and rental agreements are the mandatory documents required for a trade licence if the checklist included building plan approvals too we could perhaps have avoided issuing them the licences the officer said hn raghu additional director town planning said it was legal in bengaluru to operate rooftop pubs and restaurants in commercial areas if the option was approved in the building plan commercial use of rooftops is never part of a building plan owners normally rent out the building to a tenant who uses the space according to hisher convenience the officer said the spate of fires has highlighted the need to upgrade safety standards the national building code only specifies fire safety measures for highrises but this has to be changedto ensure that fire safety norms are adopted by all establishments irrespective of the buildings height said uday vijayan foundertrustee at beyond carlton which works toward raising awareness on fire safety unfortunately two thirds of the food services industry remains unorganised and susceptible to flouting norms which tarnishes the image for the entire sector said anurag katriar managing committee member nrai by anumeha chaturvedi kailash babar akshatha m et bureau published on jan 10 2018 at 0624 pm ist telegram facebook copy link be the first one to comment comment now comments comment now read comment 1 all comments post post find this comment offensive choose your reason below and click on