Chaos, confusion mark Sunday evening at city rooftop eateries
Times of India | 5 May 2025
12 Kolkata: Located a minute's distance from each other, two eateries were a picture in contrast on Sunday. While patrons continued to enjoy their drinks at Roots rooftop, Hashtag was voluntarily kept shut. A list of 83 rooftop joints was sent by Kolkata Police to Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) for scrutiny on Friday, and both establishments appeared on it. However, there was confusion across Kolkata's rooftop restaurants on whether to remain open or shut on Sunday evening.
Hashtag bar owner Ankit Tibrewal said they are yet to receive any official notice from KMC. But seeing the crackdown on Friday, they decided to voluntarily shut down the open-air operations until the confusion is cleared. "We heard that we were on the list. Although no official notice has been served, as and when we get a notice, we will decide on it. As of now, we have temporarily suspended the open-air operations," he said.
Within the 1.5-km radius also lie Blue and Beyond, and Social. While the former has put up a notice at the foyer saying the ninth-floor lounge is under maintenance since Saturday, Social continues to operate its rooftop. On inquiry, a Social employee said, "It's not a rooftop, it's a balcony."
When the manager at Blue and Beyond was asked when the maintenance was likely to be over, he could only reply with shrugs and uncertainty. Owner Rahul Bhutoria told TOI that even though there are talks that its name appears on the list, no notice has been served yet. "As and when we receive a notice, we will decide on action," he said.
Maintenance and renovation were also given as reasons by Club Aeries staffers. "The rooftop has been under renovation since April 28. We have received a KMC notice for inspection. But the rooftop has been closed temporarily because of renovation," a staffer said.
Nearly 290 m from Social is The Lords and Barons, where staffers are quick to redirect patrons to their first-floor establishment instead of the open-air section. The floor manager there said the rooftop remains open only in Nov and Dec. He was quick to dismiss the idea that it was shut after their name appeared on the list.
Owner of Scrapyard, Ankit Madhogaria, said operations in the open-air portion have been temporarily shut. "The mayor told us, and we shut the open-air operations temporarily. It is a good decision by the authorities to look after the safety and security of the people. We have been asked to provide justification, and we will do the needful for both our units in Camac Street and South City," he said.
However, VP of South City Mall Manmohan Bagree called the inclusion of the Scrapyard unit at the mall on the "rooftop eateries" list "an error". "South City Mall has all sanctions and documents. The open area where chairs of the establishments have been kept is the top of the third floor, not the terrace. We have co-ntacted KMC about the same and have been asked to approach them on Monday," he said.