A joint inspection of hotels and restaurants along Puri’s busy Grand Road has found widespread fire-safety violations, including the storage of LPG cylinders beyond permitted limits, days after an explosion at a hotel injured three people. The inspection was carried out by the Puri Municipal Corporation, the civil supplies department and the fire services department.
The drive followed the LPG cylinder blast at a hotel on Grand Road. Three people injured in the explosion are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Bhubaneswar, and their condition is being monitored, officials said.
Fire officer Prabhat Rout said most of the establishments inspected were not complying with fire-safety requirements. “During the inspection, we found that most hotels and restaurants were not complying with fire safety regulations. Several establishments were also storing more LPG cylinders than their permitted capacity,” he said.
The findings point to a regulatory problem in one of Puri’s busiest commercial and visitor districts, where hotels and restaurants serve large numbers of pilgrims and tourists. Puri receives a substantial flow of visitors, increasing the importance of safe cooking-fuel storage and functioning fire-safety systems in establishments operating along crowded stretches.
The inspection involved three agencies with different responsibilities. The municipal corporation is responsible for civic oversight within the city, while the civil supplies department regulates aspects related to essential commodities and the fire services department checks compliance with fire-safety requirements. Their joint action indicates that the violations are being addressed through a coordinated enforcement drive after the blast.
Officials did not provide details of the number of establishments inspected, the specific penalties imposed or the exact quantity of LPG cylinders found at individual hotels and restaurants. The available findings, however, indicate that excess cylinder storage was not an isolated issue at a single premises. Fire-safety non-compliance was reported at most of the establishments checked during the initial inspection.
Rout said the inspections would continue over the coming days to ensure compliance and prevent further accidents. The drive is also expected to be expanded to more hotels and restaurants in the area, with officials focusing on identifying safety lapses and ensuring corrective measures.
The inspections come as the injured people remain under treatment in Bhubaneswar. Authorities have not announced a broader timeline for completing the enforcement exercise or specified the corrective action required from each establishment. Further details are expected as the inspection drive covers more hotels and restaurants in Puri.
