India, Sept. 24 -- The Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) fire brigade on Wednesday widened its ongoing fire-safety crackdown beyond PG accommodations, hostels and coaching centres to hospitals and schools and colleges; issuing notices to 18 private hospitals and 20 schools and colleges across the city for allegedly operating without mandatory fire-safety and other civic permissions, officials said.

The inspections, which began last Friday on the instructions of Pune municipal commissioner Naval Kishor Ram, have so far covered 207 establishments across Pune. The drive is aimed at checking compliance with fire-safety norms and permissions, and taking action against establishments found violating the prescribed requirements, officials said...