Bengaluru residents not okay with restaurants being open 24/7

Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWA) are opposing the demand for allowing hotels, bakeries and other eateries to stay open round the clock.

On April 16, the Bruhat Bangalore Hoteliers’ Association (BBHA) wrote to Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, asking him to enforce a January 2, 2021, notification issued by the Labour Department that allowed all shops and commercial establishments that employ 10 or more people to stay open 24/7 for three years.

Also Read | Bengaluru eateries seek police nod to stay open 24/7

The BBHA says that in spite of the notification, police are not letting them keep their doors open past 11 pm.

It argued that even if liquor is not allowed to be served past 11 as per excise rules, eateries where people come in after midnight should be permitted to stay open. “It is not necessary that all hotels and restaurants should be open 24/7. It depends on the kind of customers who visit the establishment,” said Vinod Kamat, secretary of the association.

The police chief, however, said the matter was for the BBMP to decide and flagged the issue of providing security at night. Residents echoed this, saying the round-the-clock run would cause a lot of disturbance and nuisance in residential neighborhoods.

Diverse opinions

The RWAs think that even though on paper it would appear that liquor will not be served after a specific time, it is difficult to monitor those norms. “This is just a ruse to keep liquor outlets open past their specified hours by the excise department. It is not possible for the police to monitor all places and check if only food is being served or liquor, too,” says Nitin Seshadri, secretary, Koramangala 3rd Block RWA.

In Indiranagar, too, residents are opposed to the idea. Continuous noise due to the movements of delivery boys and patrons, traffic problems and disturbance to sleep are some of the reasons why I Change Indiranagar, a group of RWAs, is not okay with the idea of restaurants functioning 24/7.

Most residents in the city also express their doubts about people going to get food during the midnight hours.

Advocate and activist Vinay Sreenivasa agrees. “It is evident that the hotel industry is going through losses due to increasing LPG prices, fuel costs and the GST burden. The government is paying no heed to their problems. Hence, they (hoteliers) want to do this for business. But hardly anyone goes to hotels at 3-4 am.”

Some residents share a slightly different opinion. “It might be a good idea to keep the establishments open throughout the day only if the rules are appropriately followed and it does not cause disturbance to the residents. But knowing our society, that cannot be guaranteed. People rarely care about the welfare of others,” said Syed Dastagir, Frazer Town RWA.

Meenakshi Bharath, a resident of Malleswaram, said letting commercial establishments function in the northern Bengaluru locality would cause a lot of disturbance. Malleswaram is mostly residential, except for Sampige Road and 8th Cross, she added.

The BBHA is going to meet the police and BBMP chiefs seeking permission to keep the establishments open. A source within the association also said that they would soon meet the home minister to urge him to grant permission.

Check out latest DH videos here