Mumbai: Two days after a devastating blaze at 1 Above claimed 14 lives, bringing the civic administration’s focus to illegal constructions, Kamala Mills presented a picture of desolation on New Year’s Eve (NYE). Of the 60-odd eateries in the compound, only three — Shiv Sagar, Talaiva and Starbucks — remained open.
While some restaurants chose to mark the tragedy by staying closed, others downed shutters as the BMC continued with its demolition drive against restaurants with illegal structures on Saturday. Many establishments cancelled reservations, while some like the Bar Stock Exchange (BSE) said it was adjusting reservations at other city outlets.
A staff member at Xico said, “We had to cancel all reservations, but most of our customers understood the situation.” Xico is among the restaurants in Oasis City building that were affected by the demolition drive. Ivan Pinto, manager at Lady Baga which faced BMC action on Saturday, said, “We had already decided to not stay open on NYE out of respect for the lives lost in the tragedy on Friday.”
Low-key affair
Piles of rubble lined the lane outside Oasis City after the demolition drive, during which the building’s electricity connection was severed. Several establishments had already locked up, but many were in the middle of cancelling reservations. A restaurant manager said, “While we are in solidarity with the fire victims, one person’s fault should not affect everyone. There is also political pressure from all parties. We don’t want a scene here.”
Jaideep Singh Bika, director at Talaiva, said, “Nobody is in the mood to party tonight. Ours is not a party place. It’s an eating establishment and it is going to be a low-key affair.” He said it was decided to keep Talaiva open only after the electricity connection was restored around 3 p.m. on Sunday. “We spoke to the authorities and requested them to restore electricity supply if everything was found to be in order at Talaiva. We don’t know how many will come, but we will be open.”
Starbucks remained shut all morning, opening only in the afternoon when electricity supply was restored. “As there was no electricity since Saturday, we’re serving only coffee,” said a staff member. At Shiv Sagar, a senior staff member said, “Ours is a daily dining place and we serve common working people.” He said over half the outlet’s staff had been reallocated to other branches to help with the new year rush. “We are seeing a fall in patrons, but we need to continue serving. We’ll probably close by 9 p.m., as we have been doing since Friday.”
