BMC demolishes bar's compound wall and tank, says future of the lounge is on rocky grounds
BMC demolishes bar's compound wall and tank, says future of the lounge is on rocky grounds
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A day after MiD DAY reported about Zenzi's licence being put on hold by the BMC for violating norms, the civic body demolished an illegal compound wall and a water tank that was constructed by the lounge.
Barely two week ago, visitors to the lounge would not have guessed that the most happening spot north of the Mahim creek has in fact constructed an illegal water tank and boundary wall, which is in violation of all town planning norms.
A BMC official said that they would look at the plans of the bar and decide its fate
Confirming the demolition, Mahendra Sawant, official from the building proposal department (H-West ward) confirmed that the department had pulled down the illegal compound wall, water tank and shelves at the entry.
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"We have demolished the illegal construction that they have put up.
We will take action after studying the entire floor plan of the lounge and will pull down all other illegal structures that they might have raised," he said.
However, this is not the first time that Zenzi has faced the BMC's ire.
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In December 2009, the Bombay High Court had directed the civic body to take down the illegal shed and restore the bar premises to its original state.
The demolition was ordered in response to a petition by resident Arif Syed of Mamta building, in which the bar is situated.
Syed had alleged that Zenzi was operating its open-air lounge section in the common open space of the building.
Still unhappy
But the news of the demolition has still not brought a smile to Syed. "BMC has demolished their boundary wall, which should have ideally been of five feet.
Though they have demolished the wall, the height still seems to be more than five feet. Not only this, there are various violations but BMC is yet to act upon it.
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I fear that Zenzi will once again escape even after violating so many norms," he said.
Dr Shridhar Kubal, senior official from the health department (BMC), said, "We are going to take stringent action against the lounge. They will have to get an NOC from the fire and building departments."
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When asked whether the licence will be revoked and whether the lounge will be shut, he explained, "As of now it is permitted to run but we will decide its future in some days. We will not let anybody play with the law."