Restaurant In Ayodhya Gets Notice For Charging Rs 252 For Tea And Toast

A restaurant in Ayodhya has come under the radar of the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) for allegedly overcharging for tea and toast. Last week, a photo of a bill receipt went viral that showed the restaurant named ‘Shabari Rasoi’ charging Rs 252 (after taxes) for two cups of tea and two ‘white toast’. In response to this bill, the ADA has now issued a show-cause notice to the restaurant owner. The Times of India reported that the restaurant was “under contract” to serve a cup of tea and two pieces of toast at Rs 10 each as it was “listed under the budget category”.

The restaurant is located at Arundhati Bhawan, a newly built multi-storeyed commercial building that was developed by ADA at Tehri Bazaar near Ram temple. The restaurant is owned by Ahmedabad-based firm M/s Kavach Facility Management. The ADA has instructed the restaurant to clarify within three days, failing which the authority will cancel its contract.

Vishal Singh, the ADA vice-chairman, told The Times of India, “To ensure that the facilities are available to the devotees here at lowest rates, we made a contract arrangement with the vendors wherein reasonable rates for dormitory, parking, and food were already finalised by the authority in the agreement with vendors.”

In their defense, Satyendra Mishra, the project head of Shabari Rasoi restaurant in Ayodhya, said, “Making the bill viral on social media is a conspiracy as people here want to drink and eat for free. We are providing facilities similar to those in big hotels. As far as the authority’s notice is concerned, a reply has been given from our side.”

This is not the first time that a business has come under fire for overcharging. Back in June 2019, the Excise and Taxation Department of Chandigarh issued a fine of Rs 25,000 to JW Marriott for overcharging actor Rahul Bose. This move came after Bose shared a video on X and mentioned that the five-star property charged him Rs 442 for two bananas.

The fine was imposed after JW Marriott failed to give a satisfactory reply to a show-cause notice served by the Excise and Taxation Department. R K Chaudhry, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, UT Chandigarh, told Mint, “In this matter, a show-cause notice was issued to the hotel management. They were called today for the reply. But they could not give a satisfactory reply. So after hearing that, they have been fined.”