BMC pulls down shutters on illegal restobar that violated fire safety norms

Door No.1

mid-day impact After mid-day reported about illegal construction and fire safety violations in eateries dotting the ONGC Colony lane at Bandra Reclamation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has suspended the health licence issued to Door No. 1 and revoked its fire NOC for non-compliance of norms and conditions. While there's been no action against its neighbour Broaster Chicken as yet, it has carried out the same action against three other eateries in the lane.

As per the documents available, on February 17, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, H-west ward, Sharad Ughade ordered the suspension of the eating licence (issued in the name of Mogul Hospitality) of Door No. 1 for 15 days, till the premises were made fire-safe and illegal constructions removed.

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While no action has been taken against Broaster Chicken yet, Door No. 1's licence has been revoked. FIile Pics

The whiplash
According to the order, a copy of which is with mid-day, last week, health department officials inspected the place and found that the owner had encroached on the space in front of the eatery and was illegally using it to serve patrons. Information provided by the fire officer also revealed that a fire NOC had been issued but, till date, none of the conditions had been complied with. The fire officer remarked that due to the open space in front of the eatery remaining permanently enclosed, the restaurant was a fire trap with no proper entry-exit point.

Assured action
A senior civic official said, "Following these major violations, we have revoked the eateries' eating licence and fire NOC. They won't be allowed to function till they comply with the norms and conditions. We have also asked the occupier to remove the illegal construction, or face action."

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar met Additional Municipal Commissioner (western suburbs) I A Kundan regarding the unauthorised construction and fire safety violations of eateries in the ONGC Colony lane. During the meeting, he was assured that action had already been taken against the eateries. Speaking to mid-day, Shelar said, "I met the additional municipal commissioner and raised the issue. Officials assured me that action had been taken, that licences of many eateries had been suspended, and more would be done to tackle violators."

Shelar had written two letters to Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta about the serious violations and illegal construction found at Door No. 1 and Broaster Chicken, demanding action. Despite repeated attempts, Ughade was not available for comment.