The construction of ‘haleem bhatti’ on the top floors of City Light Hotel is not an exception.
In fact many hotels across the city have constructed the ‘bhatti’ for the forthcoming Ramzan on roof tops and upper floors due to shortage of space.
Dismantled
However, many hotels have reportedly dismantled the earthen ovens for the fear of inspection following the City Light Hotel incident.
Insiders point out that it is a common practice for many hotels in the busy areas of to set up the oven on the top floors and prepare the delicacy or even biryani .
Lack of space
Many big hotels do not have enough space on the ground floor to set up the earthen oven as it requires at least 300 hundred bricks each and consumes a lot of space. Moreover, transporting the delicacy after preparing it at a different location and shifting it to the eatery is itself a tough task and is seen as a financial burden.
Practice denied
However, on record hoteliers deny prevalence of any such practice and pass it off as a remote incident.
“It was an old building and could have crumbled down due to some problem. No hotel owner sets up the kitchen on the upper floors,” Mohd. Saleem, chairman, Twin Cities Hotel Owners Association, said.
Open grounds
Many big hotels hire function halls and open grounds to set up the kitchen for preparing ‘Haleem’ during the month of Ramzan. Preparing ‘Haleem’ involves long hours and there is every possibility of the building getting damaged due to excessive heat and load of cauldrons, firewood and workers, a hotel owner pointed out.
