WITH just a month to go for the Under-17 FIFA World Cup, the ban on liquor shops in a 500-metre radius of highways has affected business in star hotels along the Sion-Panvel Expressway in Navi Mumbai. Many bookings made by groups of revellers and football lovers have reportedly been cancelled because bars in the hotels are no longer serving liquor, according to the Navi Mumbai Hotel Association. With the state government lifting the ban on Monday, the hotel industry in the satellite town hopes to see some increase in business. The Under-17 World Cup is scheduled to begin on October 6.
Dayanand Shetty, the president of the Navi Mumbai Hotel Association, said although the ban had been lifted with the state government issuing an order to this effect on Monday, the hotel business has taken a sharp hit in the past few months. “The decision of a ban on liquor shops along highways has affected the business of 40 star hotels along the Sion-Panvel highway in Navi Mumbai area. Many bookings made by foreign nationals were cancelled after they got to know about unavailability of liquor,” said Shetty.
He claimed that bookings worth more than Rs 1 crore have been cancelled in the past few weeks. “Many have booked hotels in Mumbai and it is unlikely that the hotels here would get that clientele back now. Our business is down by almost half,” rued Shetty, who met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last month to raise the issue of Sion-Panvel highway’s star hotels and bars and seeking that the road be handed over to a local planning authority to circumvent the court-imposed shutdown.
Sudhakar Hegde of Tunga Hotel in Vashi said they have even reduced the rates of the rooms. “There has been a 30 per cent reduction in our monthly business of rooms while it is 70 per cent down for permit rooms and beer bars. Besides, we had to reduce the rates to adjust with the scenario and get more customers,” said Hegde.
But with the state government issuing an order allowing to open liquor shops in the municipal areas, the hotel industry is now hoping to see some improvement in business. “We have been told that a government order has been issued on Monday and the liquor shops in Navi Mumbai region are most likely to be open from Wednesday evening or from Thursday. We hope things will look up,” said Shetty.
