BPT targets Mondy’s

Café Mondegar is contesting a notice of termination served by the Bombay Port Trust (BPT) for violation of lease norms to 23 tenants of Metro House at Colaba. The eviction notice, which was served on November 19, 2014, mentioned that the deadline for vacating the premises was April 19, 2015, reported The Indian Express (IE) on April 18, 2015. However, according to the BPT’s estate manager, the tenants can take recourse to legal redress, reported The Times of India (TOI) in its edition of April 19, 2015.
As it happens, no eviction proceedings commenced on April 20, reported TOI on April 21. A Metro House spokesperson told the daily that they have submitted their response through their lawyer. "We will go through the reply and decide our course of action,” a BPT official told the TOI. "If the reply is not satisfactory, eviction proceedings will be carried out in court… Legal tenants will not be harmed but only those who are in unauthorized occupation or are violating the lease agreement may have to face the music,” he added. Another official revealed that it is a long drawn out process.

Iconic Café Mondegar at Colaba

Photo: Jasmine D. Driver

Located at the tip of Colaba Causeway, Mondy’s, as Café Mondegar is fondly known to residents of Bombay, was established in 1871 and is run by Hoshang Yazdegardi, son of owner Rusi Hoshang Yezdegardi, noted IE. It was the first restaurant in the metropolis to introduce draught beer. The murals on its walls, depicting life in Bombay, were painted by the late cartoonist Mario Miranda and have remained an enduring attraction