GB Nagar: 5 gaming zones found working without official nod

Noida: Following a two-day inspection drive of 23 gaming zones in Noida and Greater Noida, the fire department has found five of them operating without mandatory approvals from varying government departments and asked them to shut down, officials said on Thursday.

The drive was initiated on Monday after a massive fire incident in Gujarat on May 25. At least 24 people were killed after a massive fire erupted at a gaming zone in Rajkot, Gujarat, on Saturday evening. Initial probe revealed that the venue lacked mandatory fire safety clearance from authorities.

The police commissioner had set up a team comprising personnel from fire, electricity, entertainment, and the GST (goods and services tax) departments to check gaming zones in Noida and Greater Noida whether their licenses, permissions and fire-fighting measures are in place, said chief fire officer (Gautam Budh Nagar district) Pradeep Kumar Chaubey.

Five gaming zones were found running without permissions, two are located at Gaur City Mall in Greater Noida West, one at Spectrum Mall in Sector 75, one at Sector 104 and one at Sector 41. All of the five were operating without required permissions from the entertainment department of the District Administration while two were operating without Fire No Objection Certificate (NOC), the officer informed.

He added that while the ones located inside the mall did have the fire NOC, the others lacked it.

“All of them have been served notice to shut operations until they get required permissions from all the concerned departments. If they are found running still, FIR will be registered against them for violating government orders,” Chaubey warned.