Lotus Garden reopens

Dubai : A restaurant that found itself in the thick of a food poisoning case has reopened following a go-ahead from Dubai Municipality. But business is reportedly slow as it awaits a clean chit in connection with the case.

The Lotus Garden Restaurant at Al Qusais, which was shut down on June 13 as two siblings — Nathan and Chelsea D'Souza — died of food poisoning after allegedly consuming takeaway food from the Chinese restaurant, reopened on September 17, Restaurant Manager Naresh Tamang said.

He said the municipality gave it permission to reopen, following reports that forensic tests could not confirm toxic bacteria in the children's blood samples that had been sent to Germany for investigation. "Though we've received a letter from the municipality asking us to reopen, we would like to get a clean chit clearing the restaurant's name in connection with the case," said Tamang, adding that this is essential for the outlet to bounce back into business.

"Our sales have been adversely affected by 60-70 per cent," he said, pointing out how home deliveries have dropped to 20 per day from over 50 before the closure. Six restaurant employees recently attended a course on safe hygiene practices at the Canadian University, he added.