Gurugram Tandoor Ban: Coal, Firewood Barred at Restaurants and Hotels
Restaurant owners across Gurugram must move to electric or gas tandoors as the district enforces the air-quality curbs from Wednesday's order.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Gurugram’s district administration has banned the use of coal and firewood in tandoors at hotels, restaurants and open-air eateries, with immediate effect. District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh issued the order on Wednesday, 11 November, UNI reported, citing the revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) provisions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). The aim is to cut smoke from commercial kitchens while the air over the National Capital Region stays in the poor-to-very-poor range.
Switch to Electric or Gas Tandoors
Food establishments must move to “electric, gas-operated or other approved clean-fuel cooking equipment”, according to the order as reported by UNI. For a roadside dhaba or a small restaurant that has cooked naans and kebabs over charcoal for years, that means buying or hiring new equipment or changing the menu. The reports do not state a fine or an inspection schedule, so how strictly the ban is enforced is not yet clear.
Delhi Has Had the Same Rule
The restriction follows the pattern set across the NCR. Delhi banned coal in tandoors earlier this season when GRAP curbs began; IPB reported it in Delhi GRAP-I Imposed as AQI Rises to 244; Tandoor Coal Banned. Delhi’s air stayed in the very poor band on Thursday, with an AQI of 321 and one station at 399, as covered in Delhi AQI 321 Very Poor on 12 November. Gurugram is part of the same airshed, and more stories on the city are on the Gurugram tag page.
Also read Delhi AQI 368 After Diwali: 15 Stations Hit Severe, Burari at 441
Enforcement Details Still Awaited
The district administration has not said how long the ban will last. It applies under the GRAP framework, which CAQM tightens or relaxes according to the day’s air quality, so the curbs would normally stay until the readings improve. Owners can check the order with the district administration or the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram. The penalty for violators was not mentioned in the reports seen by IPB.
Source: Based on reporting by UNI and The Statesman.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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