Mahipalpur hotels Close to IGI disaster lurks

  • | Saturday | 16th February, 2019

NEW DELHI: For all their glitz, the hotels in Mahipalpur lack proper safety arrangements. And uncontrolled construction poses an additional hazard.Located opposite the airport, this southwest Delhi village was once a hub for cargo companies that had their warehouses here. The buildings in the extended colonies have been constructed so close that fire could quickly spread into adjacent buildings,” Sehrawat said.The staff at many of these hotels were unable to answer the safety features at their disposal. The hotels mostly cater to people coming from the airport but do not run rooftop restaurants or bars.The warehouses were converted into hotels, and temporary partitions were made to create rooms using plastic and other material. While the big hotels are using central air conditioning, others who do not have the means are still using window or split air conditioners with their ducts almost touching the electrical wires hanging outside.

NEW DELHI: For all their glitz, the hotels in Mahipalpur lack proper safety arrangements. And uncontrolled construction poses an additional hazard.Located opposite the airport, this southwest Delhi village was once a hub for cargo companies that had their warehouses here. But gradually, the warehouses gave way to hotels.“Initially, the hotels were running on the main road, but as people saw the business booming, they built them on lanes inside where two people can barely walk together. Today, there are over 300 hotels in the village,” said real estate businessman Rajender Sehrawat.Locals say the village falls under the lal dora line.Sehrawat said that the majority of the hotels are operated by big companies, which take these on rent from property owners and pay lakhs of rupees every month. The hotels mostly cater to people coming from the airport but do not run rooftop restaurants or bars.The warehouses were converted into hotels, and temporary partitions were made to create rooms using plastic and other material. While the big hotels are using central air conditioning, others who do not have the means are still using window or split air conditioners with their ducts almost touching the electrical wires hanging outside. Many of the buildings do not have any emergency exits and have other commercial activities running from basements for which pick-up trucks and cabs are parked on the roadside.Except for hotels located on NH-8 , there is no parking space inside and only small four-wheelers can go to a certain distance within the village. In an emergency situation, this could lead to loss of crucial time in which lives could be saved.Ankur Sehrawat, who runs a cab service, said so far there has been no major incident but it’s a disaster in waiting. “If something like what happened at the hotel in Karol Bagh happens here, the fire tenders will not be able to reach the interiors. The buildings in the extended colonies have been constructed so close that fire could quickly spread into adjacent buildings,” Sehrawat said.The staff at many of these hotels were unable to answer the safety features at their disposal. The manager of a hotel shared on condition of anonymity that they suffer from inadequate water supply and have kept sand buckets and one fire extinguisher for each floor.“Sprinklers and other equipment have been installed but they are not tested routinely and the staff is frequently changed and is not trained to handle emergency situations,” he said.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Delhi Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles