Leopold’s illegeal canopy demolished

On Wednesday, The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) pulled down unauthorised portions of Leopold Cafe, Colaba. They took this decision after the café failed to submit a copy of the permission asked by the civic body. A notice to the café’s owner, Deenyar S. Jehani, under Section 354A of the MMC Act was issued by BMC’s ‘A’ ward office. Section 354A deals with unauthorised repair work wherein the BMC can stop it until a copy of permission is furnished. Construction of a slab of 11.5mx3.2m by demolishing the existing canopy was listed in the notice and also asked the owner to produce a response or copy of permission within 24 hours. The repair work was also obstructing the footpath outside the café. It is seen that the bmc officials are being cautious after the Kamala Mills fire which took many innocent lives and also questioned BMC where large-scale unauthorised construction contributed the disaster.