Kamala Mills: 40 joints face heat in over a fortnight

MUMBAI: Almost 40 eateries in Kamala Mills area faced action after the December 29 blaze. An action taken report by the BMC shows that since December 30, a day after the blaze, the BMC cracked down on almost 40 eateries of which five have been sealed for non-compliance of fire guidelines.

Other hotels that have faced action are mainly those in Kamala Mills compound, Raghuvanshi Mills, Mathuradas Mills and at Atria Mall. In many cases it was found that unauthorized additions and alterations had been done in eateries like a temporary roof had been placed, illegal extensions being made and the terraces being covered by partition walls.

Some of the hotels that faced BMC heat are Hotel Sway at Atria Mall whose unauthorized shed has been demolished, Tappa and Xico at Kamala Mills whose railings were demolished. The temporary shed of Go Smash in the same area has been removed. Illegal extension of Pravasi Bar have been demolished. Restro-bars Haqq Se, Ambiance Bar and Kitchen and Blue Water have been sealed. A civic official said that they have been cracking down on eateries violating their licence conditions.


“Initially, we give them a notice for the violations we find upon inspection, but then we have realized that the notices are not taken seriously therefore now stern action has to be taken,” said the official. In case of 1Above and Mojo’s Bistro that were gutted in the fire, notices were served to them for violations but little was done by them about the same.

“The action is a knee-jerk reaction. The officials who were expected to take action should be held responsible,” said activist Nikhil Desai.