When this reporter went to the spot yesterday, the shutters were down at both VJ Cafe and Mawali Bhai Dosa. Locals were relieved; not only had the restaurants been built illegally near the local petrol pump, but the kitchen wall was barely 10 feet from the highly inflammable CNG compressor. If a single spark were to escape from the kitchen, it could ignite an explosion at the petrol pump, endangering the lives of all the residents of Mohandas Mansion, the building right next to the restaurants.

A resident of the building said, "It is good that this place has shut down. It was a disaster waiting to happen as the cafe's wall was touching the compound wall of the petrol pump. Also, in the evenings, they would block our building's entrance and the footpath with chairs and tables for their customers. I hope that the BMC will now take action against the illegal construction as soon as possible."

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Just the day before, on Sunday, mid-day had found the eateries running at full steam. BJP MLC Prasad Lad had allegedly inaugurated the restaurants. He later denied any part in the inauguration, but mid-day has pictures of him cutting the ribbon and being felicitated with a bouquet.

Used to be a juice shop
Vaibhav Jain, 24, the owner of the eateries maintained that he had all the requisite permits, but a senior civic official from the Health department of the F-north ward office confirmed that the restaurants did not have the fire brigade's no-objection certificate (NOC), and the owner only had a health licence to run a sugarcane juice centre.

The official said that there used to be a juice centre called Kanifnath Raswanti Gruh at the same spot for many decades. Last year, the juice shop was converted into a full-fledged restaurant called VJ Cafe. Later, an extension was built for Mawali Bhai Dosa.

The cafes were shut for around a month in the wake of the Kamala Mills Blaze, when the BMC launched a massive drive against illegal constructions. However, on March 14, locals noticed that the eateries were back in business. On March 15, the BMC seized several items from the restaurants, but that didn't stop the owner from running his business.

Keshav Ubale, the assistant municipal commissioner of the F-north ward, said they have plans to demolish the structure, but there was a stay order against it. "We will try to vacate the stay on demolition as soon as possible, and tear the illegal construction down," he added.

The other side
Jain continued to deny all allegations. "There is no illegality, and we have all the required permissions. We don't have cylinders but use electrical induction for frying. Since there is no cooking done, there is hardly any chance of a mishap." He gave no answer when asked why he had shut the restaurants. He had also assured this reporter that he would send copies of the permits in his possession, but he had not done so till the time of going to press.

Also read: Mumbai: No lesson learnt from Kamala Mills tragedy? Killer eateries open abutting gas station

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