West Bengal gives hotels, restaurants 30 days for fire licences after deadly blazes

Kolkata, Sep 2 (UNI) Alarmed by two recent hotel fires that claimed several lives and exposed glaring safety lapses, the West Bengal government on Wednesday gave hotels and restaurants 30 days to apply for mandatory fire licences, warning that legal action would follow against establishments that fail to comply. Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul announced the decision after a meeting with representatives of hotel and restaurant associations, held in the wake of the fatal fires at Tarapith in Birbhum and a hotel on Kolkata's Mirza Ghalib Street near Free School Street. The government does not intend to…