Hyderabad: 3 out of 6 pubs get relief from court

Hyderabad: A day after the GHMC seized six pubs on Thursday, three of them secured a stay from the court and were open for business a day later. This has become a practice with pubs not doing anything to meet the norms but securing stay orders against seizure. A senior GHMC official said that the civic body had, after following due procedure, issued notices to all pubs a month ago to ensure that they met the norms in terms of securing licences and clearances. During inspection, the corporation seized 26 pubs since they did not comply with the norms. The pub managements had been asked to get the occupancy certificate, trade licence, building permission and parking space.

“The corporation seized 15 pubs in April, five in May and six on Thursday. Of these 26 pubs, 15 have got stay orders and only two pubs rectified their structures according to the corporation norms,” the official said.

He said that out of the six pubs seized on Thursday, Le Vantage Cafe Bar, Farzi Cafe and Absorb — The Boutique secured stay orders from the court. The court stated that the pubs can run their business until further notice.  He said that in order to deal with such issues the corporation would hire a legal team.

“There is no point if they secure stay orders within hours even after we follow a cumbersome procedure for more than a month,” the official said. The corporation is made accountable if a building collapses or there is a fire accident, food poisoning or any other incident, he pointed out.