Bandra’s popular eatery ‘Royal China’ demolished by BMC, allegedly without serving notice

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday demolished one of Bandra’s most popular and prolific Chinese restaurant, Royal China, for allegedly violating civic norms.

The eatery, located at 192, Turner Road near Bandra Talao in Bandra West, was razed by officials of BMC’s H-West Ward around 3 pm today.

According to one source, civic officials did not send any prior notice to the restaurant owner before arriving at the spot with cranes. Following which, the owner’s lawyer applied for temporary relief from the court.

Although the court ordered both parties to maintain status quo till the next hearing, scheduled for February 10, the restaurant was razed to the ground by evening.

It is, however, not clear if the order was issued before or after the BMC started demolishing the decade old eatery.

Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, no official confirmation about the court order or the severity of the violation could be obtained from both Additional Municipal Commissioner Sharad Ughade and H-West ward office.

The Royal China India, renowned for serving an extensive menu of traditional and contemporary Cantonese cuisine and an extensive list of fine wines, has four outlets in the country. Of the four, two were in Mumbai – Bandra and Fort.

The Bandra outlet was frequented by both locals and Bollywood personalities, many of whom made a beeline for the eatery during the busy weekends. The outlet was opened in December 2006.

Within minutes of demolition, dozens of regular patrons took to social media to express their shock and dismay.

Officials from the H-West ward have been on demolition drive of sorts since the last 12 months, razing hundreds of illegal eateries, encroachments and slums around the Bandra West area.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Ughade has spearheaded the drive, which has been lauded by citizens and critisized by affected slum owners and businessmen.