Calcutta High Court stays order against closure and demolition of city’s rooftop eateries

Calcutta High Court halts demolition of rooftop restaurants by Kolkata Municipal Corporation after hotel fire safety concerns.

Kolkata 

Calcutta High Court stays action against roof top restaurants after Kolkata Municipal Corporation started a drive to demolish such facilities after Kolkata Hotel fire. This comes after a crackdown on rooftop eateries was started by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation last week to mitigate fire safety issues after a major blaze at a city hotel took the lives of 14 people. 

On May 5, the Calcutta High Court verbally asked the KMC officials to not demolish a rooftop restaurant in Park Street till Thursday where the demolition work had already begun last week. The restaurant owners approached the court saying that the demolition was being carried out despite ‘permissions’, but no formal order has been passed by the court till now. 

In response to this, the KMC Mayor Firhad Hakim told media persons that Whatsup Cafe has made illegal constructions in Kolkata, and they had been given a notice in December 2024. “They have gotten a stay from the court. But if some mishap happens there, who will take responsibility? Human lives are before business. My principle is rooftop, stairs, and ground are common areas in a building,” Mr Hakim said. 

He also insisted that businesses should not block fire exits and open spaces in buildings which can make rescue during fire safety a major roadblock. In the case of the Rituraj Hotel fire last week, the blockage of exit passages led to major issues during the rescue process leading to multiple deaths. 

Meanwhile, after an order on May 2 from the KMC office, the future of 83 rooftop eateries, bars, restaurants, and cafes in Kolkata remain uncertain as the notification said that the roof of any building is common property and cannot be modified or enclosed for such commercial purposes. 

On Saturday, May 2, the Kolkata Police shared a list of 83 restaurants in the city which have rooftop areas. Some of the top food and beverage establishments in the city have come under the scanner after this. Places like Olterra, The Astor, The Park Street Social, Zucca Lounge, Whatsup, and many more are on the list which form some of the biggest crowd pullers in the food and beverage industry in the city.