MC seals marriage palace running at Lakshmi cinema

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 29

The building branch of the Municipal Corporation has sealed Lovely Marriage Palace, which was running in the parking lot of the Lakshmi cinema in the old city area.

The Lakhmi cinema, one of the oldest cinemas in the city, was sold to a party comprising four or five influential partners in July 2016. The original owners of the cinema had rented out a portion of it as the cinema started making losses with the arrival of multiplexes. Of late, functions started taking place in the parking lot of the cinema in an “illegal” manner.

“Since the cinema has been sold to well-connected persons, they will get it vacated. And it was an ideal time to take action against the illegal occupants of the cinema as the High Court is already acting tough on the marriage palaces functioning without proper documents. The new buyers reportedly took the MC staff into confidence and the building branch sealed it yesterday,” said a nearby shopkeeper.

Not just the cinema, the was some error in the  influential buyers have also purchased a few adjoining shops as they want to convert the property into a commercial venture to get good returns. 

Assistant Town Planner Zone A Vijay Kumar admitted that the marriage palace had been sealed. 

Municipal Town Planner SS Bindra said since the High Court had taken a stern stand against palaces holding functions in an illegal manner, the particular palace at the cinema complex had been sealed.