Golbari, on APC Road. A Telegraph picture

The legendary Kosha Mangsho of New Punjabi Hotel, far better known as Golbari, will now be served on the Shyambazar sidewalk, instead of the landmark one-room restaurant frequented for the past 84 years.

Golbari, at 211, APC Road, downed shutters on September 3 following a face-off between owner Kishan Arora and the restaurant hands. The workers, affiliated to Citu, mention the death of waiter Chandi Jana as the immediate cause for the showdown. They allege the owner denied them a day off and monetary aid for Jana’s family, and left for Bangalore.

The 45 daily wage-earners at Golbari are also demanding permanent employee status with ESI, PF and gratuity.

Kishan Arora took charge of Golbari 26 years ago, after father Ratan Arora retired. Contacted in Bangalore, he told Metro: “I am being harassed with unreasonable demands. The helpers had stopped coming to work for three days, so I was forced to shut the hotel. Also, I needed to come to Bangalore for my son’s medical treatment. I will sort things out once I’m back in Calcutta by the end of this week… I’ve put my heart and soul into running this hotel and I can’t let it go waste.”

Netai Das, a cook at Golbari, countered: “We have been requesting Arora for a long time but he says it is not possible for him to make arrangements for so many workers and that some will have to be taken off the rolls. We want to work as a unit with equal benefits.”

After a meeting on Tuesday, the Golbari workers have decided to cook up a Kosha Mangsho storm in front of the hotel. “We hope to work something out once Arora returns but till then, we will be selling the usual fare in parcels on the pavement, but at a lower cost,” said Bhola Shankar Das, manager of Golbari.