BMC fines 245 people, files complaint against restaurant for flouting Covid norms

The Gamadevi police station filed an FIR against Auber Gin-Plates and Pours restaurant for flouting the norms.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the wee hours on Thursday fined 245 people and lodged a complaint against a restaurant in the Breach Candy area in South Mumbai for flouting Covid-19 norms.

The Gamadevi police station filed an FIR against Auber Gin-Plates and Pours restaurant for flouting the norms. Civic officials said the eatery did not function at 50 per cent capacity in line with the government orders and many patrons were without masks.

The BMC has issued a show-cause notice to the restaurant management, asking why they failed to implement the Covid-19 safety protocol and why its licence should not be cancelled.

According to the BMC, a team of officials from the D ward visited the restaurant around 1 am and found 245 people inside the eatery. Many of the patrons were moving around without masks and no social distancing was being maintained either. Assistant Municipal Commissioner of the D ward Prashant Gaikwad said the restaurant was shut and a penalty levied on all those who didn’t wear masks.

Amid rising Covid-19 cases in the state, the Maharashtra government on Monday issued fresh guidelines to contain the virus’s spread. According to the new rules, cinema halls, hotels, restaurants, malls and offices flouting Covid-19 regulations would be shut down “as long as the pandemic stays notified as a disaster by the Central government”.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray through a virtual meet had also asked hotel and restaurant associations, retail bodies and other groups to ensure strict adherence to Covid-19-related protocols on their premises.

The fresh guidelines also said all these establishments, barring health and other essential services, will operate at 50 per cent capacity.

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