More than 100 Delhi hotel licenses suspended in fire safety crackdown
The Delhi Fire Service says it has suspended the licenses of 105 hotels operating in Karol Bagh area of central Delhi.
It follows a city-wide crackdown on fire safety after a fire destroyed Hotel Arpit Palace and killed 17 people this month.
It shows the sheer extent of the problem as only 145 hotels have been inspected so far and two-thirds of them are in violation of fire safety norms.
All 300 hotels operating in the Karol Bagh area are being inspected.
With so many now shuttered, room rates will likely rise across the city.
Meanwhile the Arpit Palace Hotel’s owner Rakesh Goel returned to India from the Gulf to face the music and was detained by police on arrival.
Under questioning, Goel has admitted building code violations which enabled the fire to spread quickly, according to an unnamed law enforcement officer.
The hotel manager and an assistant manager had already been arrested immediately following the fire.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Goel’s older brother Shardendu Goel.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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