Islamic centre eatery in eye of a storm

Qureshi,who owns the popular Saleem’s restaurant in Kailash Colony that now has 12 other outlets in the National Capital Region,says the IICC management committee is violating the five-year contract signed in 2007 — a year after IICC was opened. He claims the management is looking for another caterer before the contract expires.

Though IICC authorities deny the charge,Qureshi says,“We are being humiliated despite having increased Dilli Dastarkhwan’s business by 15 times compared to the caterer before us,who could not deliver sales of even Rs 1 lakh a month.” Thanks to Saleem’s,he says,people started “visiting the restaurant and,thus,other parts of IICC”.

Emphasising that the restaurant has been a major draw for the public,especially non-members,Qureshi says Dilli Dastarkhwan has seen a steep decline in footfalls since January 5. “More than 80 per cent of our visitors are non-members,” he says,“but since they are not being allowed,we are losing out tremendously.”

Interestingly,Dilli Dastarkhwan returns the favour to Qureshi,giving Saleem’s the maximum business after its Kailash Colony outlet.

But IICC director Tanvir Haziq denies they are looking for another caterer. “We will never violate a contract — Saleem’s is presuming that we don’t want it but we have not issued any such letter,” Haziq says. “They moved court without any provocation.”

Haziq says the management had sought an explanation from Saleem’s following “many complaints from members about the quality of food and lack of hygiene”. He says,“We only asked them to mend their ways but that led them to presume we don’t want them.”

A source in IICC says the management recently received several complaints about quality of food supplied by Saleem’s but Qureshi denies it. “They never showed us any complaint,” he says.

Meanwhile,IICC president Sirajuddin Qureshi has another explanation: “Some bad elements had entered the premises — when people under the influence of alcohol enter the premises,it gives a bad name to IICC.” But Qureshi says since IICC educates people on Islamic culture,he has a “soft corner” for it,and wants the matter to be resolved amicably so he can run the restaurant.