Hyderabad Gokul Chat shut as owner tests coronavirus positive

Hyderabad: Hyderabad's popular eatery Gokul Chat located in Koti, one of the busiest areas in the city, was shut down on Tuesday as its 72-year-old owner Mukund Das Vijaywargiya tested positive to coronavirus.

The eatery hit the national headlines in 2007 when it figured among the city spots that were rocked by a series of bomb explosions in a terror attack.The municipal authorities ordered immediate closure of the eatery and sent 20 of its employees into quarantine.

The Health department along with other departments tried to trace those who visited the chat bhandar after it was re-opened on July 8.Officials suspect that he might have contracted the virus from one of his family members running the eatery.

But his family members denied it. In a statement, they said he might have been infected via an unknown source. The statement said that there have been rumours spreading about 'our staff and other family members being infected, we wish to inform that there is nothing as such.'"All members are safe. We always take utmost precautionary measures and follow the practices prescribed by FSSAI and ICMR at Gokul Chat Bhandar," the statement said.Sultan Bazaar SHO K Subbarami Reddy said that Vijaywargiya had earlier approached the police on how to go about shop re-opening after the lockdown was lifted.

"As he is an elder, we advised him to follow the Health department's advice not to step outdoors as they are vulnerable," the SHO said. "Our police teams have also made rounds to Gokul Chat in the last one week as it is most flocked eatery and they were only giving take-aways," he said.