The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has temporarily suspended at least 40 restaurants, eateries and sweet shops, including the iconic Nizam’s, after a week-long inspection drive found violations of hygiene and food-safety norms across the city. The establishments have been directed to make corrective changes before seeking permission to reopen.
The civic body’s action covers outlets across several segments of Kolkata’s food industry, including hotels, clubs, restaurants, markets and bazaars. Municipal commissioner Smita Pandey said the establishments were expected to shut from Tuesday, September 8, following the inspections.
“The drive was taken to make the entire food industry a little more responsible and accountable to the people of Calcutta,” Pandey said. “We covered almost all segments offering food to people, including hotels, clubs, restaurants, markets and bazars.”
Among the establishments named by the commissioner were Nizam’s, Don Giovanni, Kareem’s, Shimla Restaurant and Big Boss. Nizam’s, known for its association with the history of the kathi roll, operates from the ground floor of the Hogg Building, a Kolkata Municipal Corporation-owned property opposite the civic headquarters.
Pandey said the primary concerns identified during the drive related to basic hygiene and cleanliness. She said some of the establishments were well-known names and should not require much time to carry out the required changes, but the civic body had not set a uniform deadline for compliance.
“We don’t have a timeline. It depends on them. They have to comply,” she said.
Senior officials in the KMC health department said the suspended establishments would have to inform the civic body after completing the necessary changes. A municipal team will then inspect the premises and submit its findings before the suspension can be lifted.
The commissioner described the inspection findings as “eye-opening” and said conditions at some sweet shops were particularly concerning. Bengal’s sweets are closely associated with the city’s food culture, and the civic body’s action comes ahead of the Puja season, when demand at restaurants and sweet shops is expected to rise.
“What was alarming was the sweet shops. Bengal is famous for sweets. There must be better cleanliness at some of these shops,” Pandey said. “Puja is just around the corner, and we hope to get services from these establishments.”
The KMC health department began the latest drive on September 2, a day after chief minister Suvendu Adhikari raised concerns over food adulteration while launching a statewide food-safety week on September 1. Pandey said the civic body had been conducting food-safety inspections regularly and issuing notices to establishments for compliance.
She said the visiting teams were given authority during this drive to order suspensions where violations were found. The affected establishments can seek permission to reopen after completing the corrective work and passing the subsequent municipal inspection.
