Violations at Bengaluru's Mudpipe Cafe trigger citywide audit of nightspots

A day after a fire ravaged the Mudpipe Cafe in Koramangala, Home Minister G Parameshwara said a safety audit of all the restaurants, bars, cafes, and other food and beverage (F&B) businesses across the city was underway.

On Thursday morning, the Home Minister visited the now-charred cafe, which is located on the rooftop of the KDP Building in Kira Layout on Hosur Road. He mentioned that it only had permission to provide “food catering” services.

“The structure is temporary and there was no permission to set it up,” Parameshwara told reporters.

“The negligence of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is clearly visible. The BBMP only gave permission for food catering. However, they ran a restaurant and a hookah parlour. All this will be probed.”

Parameshwara added that the cafe wasn’t inspected after the permissions were granted.

Kamal Pant, the Director General of Police (DGP) and Director General (DG) of Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services, who accompanied the home minister, said that the inspection would focus on those establishments that do not have the department’s clearance and are lower than 21 metres. Rules dictate that buildings taller than 21 metres mandate a no objection certificate (NOC) by the fire department, without which other departments won’t issue permissions. In the case of Mudpipe, the building was less than 21 metres tall, fire officials said.

“The rooftop establishments would be the first to be inspected, followed by the enclosed ones and others,” Pant told DH.

“The inspection essentially covers the establishments below 21 metres without our clearance and where there is the active use of cooking gas,” he added.

The inspection that began Thursday morning would be carried out by over 56 teams in four divisions of the city.

Violations galore

Two senior fire officials, requesting anonymity, revealed to DH that as many as 12 commercial Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders were stored unscientifically at the cafe, and a leakage from these cylinders was likely the cause of the incident. However, a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) is still awaited.

The officials stated that the temporary structure on the rooftop, constructed with steel girdles and sheets, was “not at all suitable” for operating a restaurant-cum-hookah cafe.

“The LPG cylinders were stored atop the temporary structure on the terrace near the elevator headroom and were connected to the kitchen setup below,” an official said.

“LPG cylinders should be stored at ground level and connected to the stove above. Since LPG is heavier than air, it settles on the ground when leaked. Even a small spark is enough to ignite it. That’s why, at gas stations, ventilation systems are typically found at the ground level,” the official added.

The official expressed that the temporary structure, operating under a trade license from the BBMP, was not viable.

“They even set up a few tables near the headroom, which could have resulted in a greater tragedy if patrons were seated there at the time. The small internal metal fire-safe they installed also does not meet our recommended standards,” the official stated.

The second official highlighted the cafe’s inadequate safety precautions, saying, “There were no clear escape routes, and the types of inflammable materials used in the construction were ambiguous. It’s puzzling how such a massive structure received a fitness certificate.”

The FIR filed at the SG Palya police station also pointed out the negligent storage of cylinders and the absence of functional emergency exits and necessary safety measures.

Cut-off box - Show-cause notice issued: BBMP BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Health) Thrilok Chandra told DH that he has issued show cause notice to two health officers who issued trade licenses to the building that caught fire on Wednesday. “We will take action based on their response” he said. The response was sought following complaints that the trade license was issued by the BBMP without inspecting the restaurant. He also told DH that all zonal officers have been directed to undertake a fresh survey of all restaurants to ascertain whether they are operating as per norms. The civic body is expected to specifically look for the trade license and fire NOCs during the special drive that has already kick-started in a few areas.

Chef on ventilator support

Prem, 29, a chef from Nepal who jumped from the building sustained grievous injuries following the fall. 

“The patient is on the ventilator in the ICU” Dr Govindaiah Yatheesh vice president and Unit Head of Apollo Speciality Hospital Jayanagar said. “He has suffered a diffuse axonal injury (traumatic brain injury) contusions and swelling of the brain due to the fall for which anti-edema measures are on. The next 72 hours are critical so we will monitor him as we cannot put him through aggressive treatment now.”