Six roof-top restaurants and bars were raided in Jayanagar 4th block on Friday evening by members of the BBMP health committee.
Three rooftop restaurants were ordered to be closed for operating without a license while the three other restaurants were fined for poor hygiene and food safety regulations.
“The three places without licences have been told to shut down voluntarily and obtain trade licences. Fire safety norms were also lax," said Mujahid Pasha, Chairperson of the health committee.
The raids were conducted after a fire broke out at a roof-top bar in Mumbai and claimed 18 lives last week. The raids are set to continue in the city over the next few days.
Earlier, Bengaluru civic officials issued notices to 69 rooftop bars and restaurants in the city, warning closure if they violate fire safety norms.
“Inspections were conducted in 12 of the total 38 rooftop establishments in the South Zone. The remaining will be served notices as soon as inspection is completed,” said Dr Manoranjan Hegde, BBMP Health Officer, South Zone.
The first restaurant to fall to the BBMP’s sword was Onesta in Banaswadi, which was issued a notice to vacate the premises and slapped with a Rs 5 lakh fine. Another eatery in the area, Rasta Café, was sealed and the owners of the establishment were also fined Rs 5 lakh. On Lavelle Road, two outlets – Attic and Lady Bug – were levied a penalty of Rs 5 lakh each.
“If the establishment is exclusively a rooftop one, then they have to shut down operations within seven days. If the rooftop is an extension of an existing restaurant, the rooftop operations must be stopped. If any of these establishments do not shut down as per the notice, their trade licenses will be cancelled and they will be fined. The fine amount will be decided by the Mayor and Joint Commissioner,” said Dr Lokesh.