Coffee House reopens on a bitter taste

LUCKNOW: Twenty eight days after it was sealed by the Registrar of Cooperatives, The Indian Coffee House was reopened in Lucknow on Monday. Orders for breaking open the seal of the disputed restaurant were issued by district magistrate Anil Sagar on November 8, directing additional city magistrate (ACM) VK Singh to have the restaurant reopened, in his presence, on November 15.
Instead of the welcoming smell of coffee, however, officers had to suffer the stench of over 25 kg of meat and other food that was rotting inside the restaurant since its shutters were downed on October 18. Additional district cooperative officer MD Dwivedi said: "The smell was over powering when we opened the shutters. However, we had to assist the ACM in creating an inventory of the property inside the restaurant. We hope to complete the job by (Monday) evening.''
By 6pm, Singh confirmed that the completed list of objects inside The Indian Coffee House was prepared and handed over to Aruna Singh, secretary of the existing, `legally-formed' cooperative society. Singh said: "We handed over a 26-page list to Aruna Singh. Running the restaurant is her prerogative. My role was to have the Coffee House reopened in my presence.''
But though the disputed restaurant has been formally declared open, the dispute over property is far from over. Apart from the concerns over the real ownership of land on which The Indian Coffee is built, the fate of the current accused in the case, Rajesh Kumar Singh, also remains uncertain. Singh was arrested on charges of fraudulent practises on August 20 last. However, though the 90-day period within which the accused must be chargesheeted ends on November 20, the documents are still to be submitted in court. "The chargesheet will be submitted before the expiry of the 90-day period,'' said officer in-charge, Police Chowkie Tulsi, Rai Sahab Dwivedi.
Meanwhile, while the clean up operations on the restaurant will continue over the next few days, secretary Aruna Singh, along with a 3-member committee of persons from UP government's Registrar of Cooperatives will be responsible for operating the restaurant. Administrator for Registrar of Cooperatives, Babu Lal Gupta said: "I, along with Singh, and two others are in charge of running The Indian Coffee House until a new committee is constituted. For the restaurant to start operations, the society will need to apply for a business licence from the municipal corporation. A legitimate electricity connection will also be required. Once this is done, the coffee house can open to public.''
According to rough estimates, the formalities for reopening the restaurant are likely to be completed within the next fortnight. The processes for electing a fresh committee will also, Gupta added, be carried on simultaneously. Significantly, with the constitution of a new cooperative committee to run the famous coffee house, the oldest surviving members of the original cooperative committee, as well as their relatives, are likely to be rehabilitated. Gupta said: "Part of the paperwork that is to be done will be to create new records of all the existing members of the cooperative society. Once this is done, the election process can be carried out.''
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Coffee-House-reopens-on-a-bitter-taste/articleshow/6932532.cms)