After New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had last week sealed the 21 restobars in Connaught Place following a roof collapse of a vacant room in C-Block, restaurant owners have decided to protest against the decision of the civic body. Though nobody was injured but the incident raised questions about the structural stability of other buildings in the iconic market.
Another incident took place on Saturday night when the ceiling of Odeon Sweets in Connaught Place collapsed. located next to Unplugged Courtyard, the shop had been locked for some time.
While speaking to The Pioneer, top officials in NDMC said they have not received any request from any restaurant or bar owner to reopen their roofs/balconies. “It is yet not decided till when we will keep them shut,” said the official.
Meanwhile, managers in CP restaurants and bars said whatever is happening to CP in the last few days is going to hit their business adversely. “We were against the car ban and we are against sealing of rooftop restobars as well. If one terrace has collapsed this doesn’t mean that every building is weak and will face the same.”
“We will definitely appeal to the NDMC to allow terrace dining as sealing will drop footfall drastically,” said Madan Singh Rawat,
NDMC had taken action against use of terrace for the commercial purpose in the past too. It had sealed the roofs of 13 restaurants in 2015. The restaurant owners were, however, allowed to operate after they signed affidavits saying they would adhere to rules.
The sealed establishments include My Bar Headquarters, Warehouse Cafe in D-block, The Vault Cafe in F-block, Kinbuck-2 and Kitchen Bar in C-block, lord of the Drinks, Open House Cafe, Jungle Jamboree, Boombox Cafe, Farzi Cafe, House of Commons, Hotel Palace Heights, Office Canteen Bar, luggage Room, Cafe OMG, Unplugged Courtyard, Barbeque Nation, TC Bar & Restaurant, Teddy Boy Restaurant and The Niche Restaurant and Cafe Public Connection.
Priyank Sukhija, the owner of Warehouse and Open House Café alleged that the sealing was just part of NDMC’s attempt to restrict people from visiting Connaught Place before they roll out their mush-hyped vehicle-free plan.”
When asked about the NDMC notices issued to them, Ajit Ajmani, the owner of MyBar Headquarters, said they have not violated nay norms as they were aware about the notices issued to them by the NDMC, warning against use of terrace and balconies.
Riyaaz Amlani, president of National Restaurant Association of India, said, “There is no connection between the collapse and the rooftop restaurants. The concept of such restaurants can’t be simply done away with. We understand that safety is a primary concern, but there should be a policy and NDMC can issue the licences after checking structural stability certificates.” “We are going to protest against NDMC’s decision and demand that the restobars be allowed to function,” he added.
However, an NDMC official said, “Terrace or balconies in heritage buildings cannot be used for any kind of commercial activity. The civic body has also decided to conduct a survey of all “dangerous” buildings in the area by end of this month to avoid any mishap and formulate a policy to regulate structures installed on rooftops in commercial centre.”
It may be also noted that NDMC had constituted a six-member panel, comprising structural safety experts from IIT-Delhi, Central Public Works Department, DMC and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the area to inspect the site and ascertain the reason behind the collapse.
