Arunachal: 6 school hostels shut for flouting safety norms

“As the boy died due to criminal negligence by the owner of the private hostel, we found on inspection that the hostel was a dingy and extremely hazardous place. This prompted us to urgently inspect all the hostels, during which we found six which did not even have the permission to run them,” he said.

In his order, he said owners of these six hostels not only ignored safety norms, but had also failed to obtain permission from competent authorities to set up these hostels. Fire hazard, security and emergency exit facilities in the wake of natural calamities were the major aspects that were looked into.

The notification said these hostels had been running for years without proper permission from the authorities. They were also found to be violating the departmental norms and guidelines for running such private hostels which prohibits use of hazardous bamboo mats for walls and ceilings, as also use of bunks for beds.