Inside the Malviya Nagar fire tragedy: Who owns Lemon Green Hotel and how much did a room cost? EXPLAINED
Malviya Nagar fire: Owners Harish and Varun Goyal were exposed for illegally running 25 rooms on a 6-room license at Malviya Nagar’s Flourish Stay hotel, where over 20 died.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsMalviya Nagar fire: In the aftermath of the horrific incident that took place recently at a South Delhi hotel, important facts have come out about the nature of the hotel business, its regulation, and the identity of the victims. At least 21 lives were taken away by a fierce fire that ravaged the three-star hotel.
Located near the luxurious locality of Malviya Nagar adjacent to the Max Hospital in South Delhi, the hotel operated the Lemon Green restaurant under the brand name "Flourish Stay Bed and Breakfast" (B&B).
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Owner of the hotel and major licensing and regulation violations exposed
As per information gathered from media reports and investigations carried out by the administration, the owners of the B&B are the Goyal brothers, namely Harish Goyal and Varun Goyal.
However, major regulatory issues with the premises have been revealed in the course of investigations, including the following:
Expensive tariff due to extreme demand: As per the data released by MakeMyTrip, which is one of the biggest online portals for travel booking purposes, the tariff rate per night for even one room in the said accommodation was around Rs 3,800.
Given its very convenient location near the renowned Max hospital, it enjoyed exceptional demand, especially for hosting families coming to see patients in the prestigious healthcare institution.
Death toll fears: Rising as African nationals found among the victims
Although the emergency services managed to put out the blazing fire, the law enforcement agencies fear that the death toll may not be 21 and may further rise due to some of the survivors being in a critically ill condition.
The victims of the incident, unfortunately, turned out to be primarily composed of foreign nationals coming from different countries in Africa due to the time of day that the fire broke out since the first call reporting the incident reached authorities around 8:48 in the morning. The quick dissemination of deadly gases took all the international guests sleeping peacefully at the time of the tragedy by surprise.
40 evacuated as state emergency units ready to take action throughout Delhi
Around 40 people were evacuated by the Delhi Police and firemen during the dangerous evacuation mission.
Rescue units transported the victims and injured passengers to several medical facilities in the national capital:
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences: Thirteen wounded people have been admitted to the top institute's casualty ward.
- Max Hospital and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital: Special emergency teams in the adjacent hospitals are now taking care of other injured people.
An investigation is currently being carried out to determine what caused the sparks in the first place, as well as to assess all of the structural and zoning violations committed by the operators.