Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials closed two hookah bars running illegally in Koramangala 6th Block on Friday.
According to the BBMP officials, the hookah bar owners had taken licences as cafes but were operating as hookah bars. The outlets have also been fined Rs. 2 lakh for selling tobacco without licence under the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Act. Apart from this, they were penalised for not segregating waste and not maintaining hygiene on the premises.
It may be recalled that members of the BBMP standing committee on health had ordered the closure of more than six illegal hookah bars on December 24. Three hookah bars on M G Road and two in Indiranagar were shut down and were fined varying from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. Also, a few hookah bars that were supplying expired goods to its customers were seized during the raid.
