Lucknow Hotel Fire: Probe Report Holds LDA, Fire Officials Responsible, Recommends Strict Action

The Commissioner of Lucknow Division and the Lucknow Police Commissioner met with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath prior to submitting the joint inquiry report.

Fire Brigade personnel try to evacuate people after a fire broke out in a hotel in Hazratganj area of Lucknow.

Source : PTI

The high-level committee appointed to investigate the hotel Levana fire catastrophe, which took four lives, handed its findings to the state administration on Friday, news agency ANI reported.

The Commissioner of Lucknow Division and the Lucknow Police Commissioner met with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath prior to submitting the joint inquiry report.

According to reports, the investigation blamed the fire on incompetence and held six departments liable for the incident: Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (LESA), District Administration, Fire Services, Lucknow Municipal Corporation, and Excise Department.

The inquiry report named the officers and engineers who were accountable for the fire. The report recommended punishment against officials of the LDA and the Fire Department.

The joint report also included a list of unlawfully constructed hotels in Lucknow. It also proposed taking action against hotels that were breaking the rules.

A major fire broke out at Hotel Levana in Lucknow's Hazratganj neighbourhood early Monday morning, killing four people and injuring ten more.

Following the tragedy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed a joint investigation into the cause of the fire at the hotel by the Commissioner Lucknow division and the Police Commissioner Lucknow.

The proprietors and general manager of Hotel Levana were arrested after Lucknow Police filed a FIR.

“We have detained hotel owners Rohit, Rahul Agarwal and their general manager. FIR has been registered. An inquiry committee consisting of Police Commissioner Lucknow and Divisional Commissioner will probe the matter,” Piyush Mordia, Joint Commissioner of Police, Lucknow was quoted by ANI in its report.

In addition, Fire Department inspectors investigated the hotel on Monday to determine the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, the Lucknow administration has ordered that the hotel be sealed and demolished.

“Lucknow’s Levana Hotel is to be demolished. Lucknow Divisional Commissioner has given instructions to seal and demolish. No copy of the approved map of the hotel was given to Lucknow Development Authority (LDA),” said Roshan Jacob, Lucknow Commissioner.

(With Inputs From ANI)