Hookah bars to reopen from today

According to the circular,cabins should be set up in one big area and small cabins should be provided individually to customers. These must be transparent and properly lit. Only 30 per cent of the restaurant space can be utilised for such cabins. The hookah bar should be set up in a way that other customers in the restaurant do not have to pass through there. Smoking and non-smoking zones must be properly demarcated with signboards.

The circular further calls for installation of CCTV cameras ,with the footage submitted to the area police stations every week. For greater security,identity cards of customers (driving licence,voter ID,passport,etc) must be checked and all personal details recorded before letting them in.

The police will check the flavours and other contents used in hookahs regularly and send them to forensic labs for testing. If the content contains any suspicious element,the FSL will probe the matter and submit a report to the zonal Dy CPs.

The circular further states that only restaurants with sitting capacity of 30 or more,and which have been running for over a year,can apply for a hookah bar licence. Those found violating the rules will be booked under Section 188 of the IPC and Section 131 (1) of the Bombay Police Act.