Mumbai’s eateries, bars can remain open till 1am

Within 24 hours of restricting restaurants and bars from operating beyond 11.30pm, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday rolled back its decision

Within 24 hours of restricting restaurants and bars from operating beyond 11.30pm, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday rolled back its decision. It has now allowed them to remain open till 1am, owing to requests from owners, who said the 11.30pm deadline had “no logic”.

Mumbai’s eateries, bars can remain open till 1am

The BMC had earlier in December 2020 imposed a night curfew in the city, wherein restaurant and bar owners were allowed to operate till 11.30pm, in view of New Year celebrations. However, the state government, while extending the lockdown till February 28 last week, allowed restaurants and bars to remain open till 1am as part of its “Mission Begin Again” — a staggered plan to lift coronavirus-enforced curbs. But the BMC on Friday evening restricted the timing to 11.30pm.

Restaurant and bar owners across the city complained that there was a lot of confusion post the BMC move on Friday, despite the state allowing operations till 1am. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) said, “Many restaurants expressed discontent over the last-minute notification issued by the BMC, which caused chaos and disruption of last evening’s [Friday] business as well as a lot of confusion. Quite a few restaurants did not receive any official notification, while others complained about having received the notification over WhatsApp and were unsure of its legitimacy. Based on information received from its restaurant members, the HRAWI sought clarification from the BMC and requested for withdrawing the notification with immediate effect.”

Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, HRAWI spokesperson said, “We immediately appealed against the notice and presented the facts, and thankfully the notification has been withdrawn with immediate effect as per a fresh circular issued this morning. We hope the implementing agencies have been also adequately informed. We thank the BMC and excise departments for understanding our predicament and for immediately acting on it and taking back an order, which would’ve hurt an already ailing industry even further.”

A restaurant owner, not wishing to be named, said, “There was no logic in the notification issued by the BMC on Friday. It is difficult to understand the logic of making changes in the timings for service of liquor or food. How is that going to help control numbers? Are we saying that coronavirus gets activated between 11.30pm and 1.30am?”

Meanwhile, as per the notification issued by the BMC on Saturday, restaurant, bar, banquet halls and food courts can remain open in the city between 7am and 1am, followed by other shops and establishments that can remain open between 7am and 11pm. Lastly, shops selling liquor in the city have been allowed to remain open between 10am and 10.30pm.