Published Oct 29, 2023 | 2:42 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 29, 2023 | 2:43 PM
Fire accident at Mudpipe hookah cafe in Koramangala on 18 October, 2023. (Supplied)
The Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services Department has identified over 240 rooftop restaurants in Bengaluru that are in alleged violation of fire safety norms and licence rules, officials said on Sunday, 29 October.
These include bars, hookah bars and pubs, added the officials.
The action came after a massive fire broke out at a rooftop cafe called Mudpipe in a multi-storeyed commercial building in the posh Koramangala area in Bengaluru on 18 October.
While there was no death reported in the accident, videos of the establishment on fire were circulated widely on social media platforms, leading to strong reactions from several quarters.
After the incident, the Fire Department started inspecting various rooftop premises to check if the fire safety norms in these establishments were in compliance.
“Since the major fire incident at Koramangala, we started inspecting such rooftop establishments and so far till 26 October, the fire department has identified 243 premises which have violated fire-related safety norms and licence rules,” a senior fire official said.
The inspection was being carried out on a daily basis on working days — from Monday to Friday.
A list of all establishments that have been found in violation of fire-safety norms has been sent to the office of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner for further action, noted the aforementioned official.
According to data shared by BBMP, the civic body inspected 26 trades on Saturday and issued notices to seven of them.
Following the inspection, one of the rooftop establishments in the RR Nagar area was also closed.
On 18 October, two loud explosions rocked Mudpipe, a rooftop restaurant and hooka parlour on a three-storey building in Bengaluru, within a span of 10 minutes as the fire started to engulf the entire establishment.
The decors hung on the parapet railings caught fire and turned into dripping fireballs. They damaged parked two-wheelers and a new car that was awaiting delivery to a customer at the Maruthi Suzuki Nexa showroom on the ground floor. There is a gymnasium on the first floor.
A 27-year-old migrant worker from Nepal jumped to the ground from the cafe. Prem Singh, a resident of JP Nagar and a native of Nepal, sustained grievous injuries but was out of danger, the doctors at a private hospital in the Tilak Nagar area of the city told the police.
He had been working as a chef at the hookah cafe and restaurant named Mudpipe and was the sole person injured in the fire.
He was trapped in a corner of the rooftop cafe as fire surrounded him. Singh had no means or time to run to the exit on the rooftop cafe.
He instead hung on to the parapet wall at the corner of the cafe — avoiding the smoke and fire. A video of Singh leaping from the rooftop restaurant went viral on social media.
(With PTI inputs)
