40 restaurants, sweet shops shut in Kolkata over safety norms
Times of India | 9 September 2026Among the establishments named by civic officials are specific outlets of popular Mughlai restaurants like Arsalan, Kareem’s, Nizam’s, Simla Biryani, Chinese restaurants Big Boss and Denzong Kitchen, and multicuisine restaurant Don Giovannis.
Notices have also been served on confectionery units such as Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick and Girish Chandra Dey & Co, a sweet shop on Rashbehari Avenue and unrelated to Girish Chandra Dey & Nakur Chandra Nandy in north Kolkata. Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick director Sudip Mullick said the unit at BL Saha Road listed by KMC did not belong to the company.
Also on the list is a dark store of Zepto, the quick-commerce company that delivers groceries, fresh produce, household goods and other everyday essentials to customers.
KMC administrator and municipal commissioner Smita Pandey said civic food inspectors checked 592 restaurants, food joints and confectioneries between Sept 1 and Sept 7 as part of a food safety drive. Inspections were also carried out at malls, clubs and markets across the city.
The announcement led to consternation among restaurateurs and sweet shop owners. Nizam’s proprietor said they had challenged the KMC findings.
Civic officials said the establishments will have to improve hygiene and food safety standards before applying for permission to reopen. The owners have been given two weeks to address the violations listed by the food safety department. “We are eager to give the errant food and confectionery joints, some of whom are both famous and popular, a chance to improve and continue with their business, especially on the eve of Bengal’s biggest festival, Durga Puja,” Pandey said.
According to KMC officials, the violations included poor hygiene, improper storage of raw materials such as meat and fish and failure to follow prescribed food safety norms. During the drive, officials said they destroyed 1,224 kg of meat and fish recovered from some restaurants and wholesale fish markets after finding that they had been stored in violation of safety standards.
A KMC food inspector said improper storage of meat and fish was one of the major concerns. “We even found cockroaches stored alongside meat in a well-known Chinese restaurant in Chinatown,” the inspector said.
In confectionery units, the inspection teams claimed they found unhygienic manufacturing areas, lack of records on disposal of used cooking oil, uncovered food items and food handlers working without headgear or aprons. Sudip Mullick of Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick said its units maintained the highest standards of hygiene and cleanliness and was confident it could not fail the health test.
National Restaurant Association of India president Sagar Daryani said restaurants must ensure hygiene, prevent adulteration and maintain proper storage and temperature control.
“Food safety is a shared responsibility. Enforcement efforts should not be focused on merely visiting restaurant premises with local media before even a fair questioning begins and then just cancelling licences. There should be adequate focus on education, remediation and capacity building,” Daryani said.
Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HREAI) president Sudesh Poddar said around 100 hotels and restaurants had been inspected by the food safety department. “We urge our members to rectify the defects at the earliest,” Poddar said.
(With inputs from Udit Prasanna Mukherjee)
