VIJAYAWADA: The management of Hotel Swarna Palace in Vijayawada, where 10 persons died in a fire mishap in the early hours of August 9, took up renovation works allegedly without taking permission from the authorities concerned. The district administration, which got wind of the activity, halted the renovation works.
The hotel management covered the front side of the hotel with tarpaulin sheets for four days and reportedly took up renovation works allegedly without informing either the district administration or the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials. Incidentally, the Governorpet police station, where the case related to the fire mishap was registered, was just 50 meters away from the hotel.
The Hotel Swarna Palace was taken on lease by Ramesh Hospitals for running a Covid-19 care centre without getting the mandatory no objection certificate (NoC) from the fire department.After getting wind of the renovation activity, the district administration visited the hotel and stopped the works and issued notices to the management.
District Collector A Md Imtiaz found fault with the hotel management for taking up renovation works when the case is still pending in court. He said the Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner has been directed to conduct an inquiry into the incident.
“We did not give any permission to the hotel management to take up renovation works. As the case is still under investigation, any action by the management will be considered criminal activity,” Imtiaz said.
Responding to the issue, Police Commissioner Bathini Sreenivasulu said the station house officer (SHO) concerned was asked to inspect the spot and register a case against the management under relevant sections for violating police orders.
“If they want to carry out any repair works to the hotel, they should approach us in the first place. Local police will take the hotel into their custody,” Sreenivasulu said. Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner V Prasanna Venkatesh and hotel owner Srinivasa Rao were unavailable for comment.