Eight days after blast, The Rameshwaram Cafe reopens to brisk business

PTI, Mar 9, 2024, 3:32 PM IST

Eight days after it was shattered by a blast that left 10 persons injured, The Rameshwaram Cafe in the city started serving its loyal customers once again on Saturday, throwing open the eatery to the public with heightened security measures.

A low intensity blast occurred at the Brookfield outlet of the eatery on March 1, leaving customers and hotel staff injured.

The cafe was reopened on Friday with much fanfare on the occasion of Mahashivratri and enhanced security measures to ensure that no untoward incident occurs in the future. However, it started allowing public from today.

According to the administration, metal detectors have been installed at the entrance of the eatery to screen customers. Staff will screen every customer with handheld detectors before allowing entry. There would be strict vigilance on all customers and staff will look out for any suspicious activity.

On Saturday morning, the co-founder and CEO of The Rameshwaram Cafe, Raghavendra Rao along with his staff sang the National Anthem before welcoming the customers who had to pass through the metal detectors installed at the entrance of the eatery. Customers were seen lining up inside the cafe placing their orders. By 8 am, the eatery was back to its normal business serving breakfast to its customers as usual. Rao told reporters, ”we have strengthened our security team and are also trying to set up a separate panel involving ex-servicemen who could train our security guards at all our branches.” On Friday, when the Brookfield outlet was reopened, Pujas were held at the eatery, which was adorned with flowers and festive decorations to mark the reopening. Police oversaw security arrangements throughout the day.

Following the Macrh 1 incident, the cafe was cordoned off as part of investigation by the city police. A cloth merchant from Kaul Bazaar in Ballari and a PFI cadre have been detained by the National Investigation Agency and the Central Crime Branch as part of their joint probe into the blast.