Hauz Rani business drops 70 percent after MCD seals hotels following fatal fire
Following a fatal fire on June 3 that killed 23 people at the Flourish Stay B&B, a massive crackdown by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has shuttered most hotels and guest houses in Hauz Rani Market, Malviya Nagar. The enforcement action against safety violations has triggered a severe economic slowdown in the South Delhi neighborhood, which sits directly across the road from Max Hospital in Saket.
A month after the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 14 foreign nationals, yellow sealing tapes and safety violation notices cover the entrances of numerous hotels and B&Bs in the area. The gutted building where the fire broke out remains hidden behind police barricades and a pink sheet.
While local pharmacies, grocery stores, restaurants, and pottery shops have reopened, traders report that their business has nearly vanished. The local economy heavily relied on foreign medical tourists who came for treatment at Max Hospital and stayed in the nearby guest houses.
With the local accommodations shut down, footfall in the market has dropped by at least 70 percent. A foreign national who has run an imported food store in the market for two years said his business depends almost entirely on these overseas visitors. He expressed deep concern for his three employees, noting that the sudden drop in customers has left his business highly vulnerable.
Many shopkeepers in the market are migrants operating from rented spaces. Thahlath Azeez, a tea shop owner from Bodh Gaya in Bihar who has worked in the market for over a decade, expressed worry about how he would cover his expenses and rent, noting that building owners still expect timely payments.
Fifty-seven-year-old Kesar, who has run a pottery shop next to the gutted building for more than three decades, recalled hearing the screams on the morning of the fire. Today, her shop sees almost no customers. She shared that she had only made Rs 30 from selling a single clay pot since opening her shop in the morning.
A few meters away, Riyazuddin Mansoori, the 62-year-old proprietor of Mansuri Cotton Shop, reopened his store days after the incident. Mansoori became a local hero during the fire by laying out blankets from his shop to cushion the fall of victims jumping from the upper floors of the B&B. He expressed deep worry for the neighborhood, stating that the tourists were the local traders' bread and butter.
