After fatal fire, BMC cracks down on illegal structures
MUMBAI: From demolishing illegal structures to issuing lookout notices against the accused, authorities went into an overdrive on Saturday after a fire a t two Kamala Mills restaurants claimed 14 lives early Friday.
After drawing severe flak for the fire, more than 1,000 civic body officials spread out on Saturday and took down 316 illegal structures in pubs, restaurants, malls and commercial compounds in Lower Parel, including Kamala Mills, Todi Mills and Peninsular Business Park, and in parts of Worli, Bandra, Andheri and Juhu. Civic officials sealed seven eateries and cut power and water supply to restaurants razed at Kamala Mills. A BMC official said the drive will continue for two weeks.
“We are checking if entrances to the restaurants are spacious or have been blocked, whether they have fire exits, if they have encroached upon an open space; and if they have artificial roofing with tarpaulin,” municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta said.
On the outskirts of Mumbai, the Thane MC carried out surprise checks on five restaurants.
The Mumbai civic body filed three fresh cases against the two Kamala Mills restaurants — 1Above and Mojo Bistro — and P22 at Raghuvanshi Mills for unauthorised constructions. A case was registered against the owners of Mojo Bistro — Yug Pathak and Nagpur-based Yug Tulli . Yug is the son of former Pune police commissioner KK Pathak. Despite repeated attempts, KK Pathak couldn’t be reached for comments.
Police said Kamala Mills owner Ramesh Govani has been named as an accused in the cases.
Mumbai police issued a lookout notice against the three owners of 1Above, where the fire is believed to have started. A case of culpable homicide, which is a non-bailable offence, was filed against Kripesh and Jigar Sanghvi and their partner Abhijit Mankar. Police suspect the three may attempt to approach court for anticipatory bail.
Of the 14 injured, three were discharged on Saturday. Doctors at Bhatia hospital said the remaining 10 are stable, but one is critical with 30% to 35% burns.
Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam alleged that BJP MLA Sudhakar Deshmukh played an active role in granting permission for illegal construction at some of the pubs and restaurants facing action after the fire.
THE MUMBAI CIVIC BODY FILED THREE FRESH CASES AGAINST THE TWO KAMALA MILLS RESTAURANTS — 1ABOVE AND MOJO BISTRO