Health hazard: Three Clifton hotels reopen after shutdown

Karhai joints, Dua, Khyber and Salateen, open doors on condition to comply with regulations

KARACHI: Three Clifton restaurants, which were shut down on Monday due to complaints of environment pollution, reopened on Wednesday but on the condition that they will comply with regulations.

Karhai joints, Dua, Khyber and Salateen - all located near Bilawal House, were sealed by the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) after they received complaints that these facilities were emitting smoke in large quantities. Sepa took action under the Sindh Environment Protection Act, 2014 when the restaurants failed to respond to notices, Sepa deputy director Waris Gabol told The Express Tribune.

The popular restaurants were shut down on Monday and remained closed until Wednesday evening when the Sepa teams came to unseal them. Workers could be seen happily carrying cushions and placing sheets on the charpoys that serve as dining space for the open-air restaurants. However, these hotels are located under residential apartments and are known to bother the occupants of the flats above. The reason why they were allowed to reopen is because all three restaurants submitted an undertaking to comply with Sepa regulations within seven days, said Gabol. If they fail to do so, legal action will be taken against them, he added.

The restaurants have to approach a Sepa certified consultant, who will advise them on how to make the required technical changes, such as installing blowers and air filtration devices, explained Sepa chief supervisor Shoaib Qureshi, who was accompanied by Sepa inspector Faisal Malik. Both men came to Clifton to unseal the three restaurants.

These changes will be made under section 3 of the national guideline to control air pollution, he added.  Wednesday’s reversal of the shutdown led restaurants owners to breathe a sigh of relief. A Dua restaurant employee, Sohail Khan, who refused to share details of the owner, said they suffered a loss of around Rs1 million during the days the restaurant was sealed. Meanwhile, Taj Muhammad of the neighbouring Salateen Restaurant claimed the restaurants reopened because the complainants had withdrawn their complaints after a dialogue with them.

Nevertheless, residents are unhappy about the reopening. Many of them wished to see the undertakings and documents that led to the reopening and denied having any discussions with the restaurant owners.

A resident, who is suffering from lung cancer, expressed his doubts that Sepa will be able to enforce their decision. Air pollution will continue to rise and fill the apartments with smoke and fumes, he regretted. “I cannot even open my windows and have to wear a mask to breathe,” he complained. Among the complaints of smoke emissions, the residents also want to free the public space below the apartments and ensure safety for the gas cylinders used by these restaurants.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2016.