Journalism of Courage
For patrons of German Bakery,the wait for its reopening is getting longer with the Kharose family claiming that it is facing a financial crunch to get the popular hang-out up and running. The Kharoses have once again said that the bakery would reopen in two months,but have not specified a date by which it would happen.
We plan to re-start the bakery in two months but we cant set a specific date as we could not keep the promise in the past, said 21-year-old Snehal Kharose who is single-handedly trying to get the bakery going. In the same breath,Snehal added,The bakery could open in two months or even a month.
The German Bakery was in the limelight again after Qateel Siddiqui,arrested for his alleged role in the bakery blast,was found murdered in Yerawada jail. The bakery,which was wrecked in the February 13,2010 blast,has been undergoing renovation for quite a while now. Its owners have,time and again,said the bakery would reopen soon,only to extend the date further.
The biggest problem,said Snehal,is the shortage of funds. We have been trying to restart the bakery for the past two years but due to financial crunch,this has not been possible. We are relying heavily on state government assistance and bank loan. We have no personal source of income, she said.
Despite the bakery being a private property,the state had gone out of its way to help the Kharoses on humanitarian grounds. The financial assistance to Kharoses was provided on humanitarian grounds and because German Bakery was internationally known, district collector Vikas Deshmukh told Newsline on Sunday.
For the bakerys fans,who have been waiting for its reopening,it has been one disappointment after another. The key question the citizens are asking is: wasnt the Rs 14-lakh financial assitance by the state government enough to get bakery restarted?
I wouldnt like to comment about this. The construction part is over,we are facing problems in technical aspects, said Snehal.
Deshmukh said he would send officials to find out the problem the Kharoses were facing. I will depute officials to find out what is holding up the bakerys reopening. I will also tell officials to find out if the amount given as assistance was enough to get the damaged bakery renovated, said Deshmukh.
Stating that she was receiving guidance from consultants,Snehal said they were also recruiting staff at the moment. The family says they would inform citizens when they finally decide to reopen the bakery.
As for rumours that the bakery would be renamed,Snehal says,German Bakery would remain German Bakery. There will be no change in its name.
