Hotels lose business as protesters turn up heat

Coimbatore: Owners of hotels, restaurants, bakeries and small eateries in the city are bemoaning loss of business after police reportedly forced them to close the establishments in view of the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and other civil disobedience movements.
Several such establishments on the Puliyakulam Road and some on the Avinashi Road, including tiffin centres on pushcarts, were forcibly closed by the city police a few days ago during a rally conducted by pro-Tamil and dalit outfits on Dr Balasundaram Road. Last month, during an anti-CAA protest, many bakeries and hotels were forcibly closed by police.
The hoteliers said they suffered huge losses as they were forced to obey the instruction. As police did not inform them in advance, they could not alert their regular customers and had to discard unused food, they said.
“We don’t know why the city police are afraid of the protesters. It’s their duty to punish those who take the law into their hands. But they ordered business establishments including hotels and bakeries to down shutters during the blue shirt rally and meeting on abolition of caste held here on Sunday evening. Earlier, police used to advise shopkeepers to keep the shops open during protests and public meetings. They began to act tough and target us just two months ago,” said a hotelier.
“Some major hotels located on Avinashi Road and Puliyakulam Road were forcibly closed on Sunday around 9pm. Tiffin centres on pushcarts were also forcibly closed at Lakshmi Mills Junction and VOC Park ground. It made huge loss to the establishments,” he told TOI.
Secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) S Balamurugan blamed the police department. “No law & order issue happened during the Left-wing protests in the city. But police forcibly closed the shops. When the right-wing protesters damaged hundreds of shops and took the law into their hands a few years ago, police did not force the shopkeepers to close the shops. Their action is biased,” he said.
Police commissioner Sumit Sharan said that some eateries on pushcarts and Tasmac outlets were closed as part of precautionary measures. “Our personnel did not force hotels or bakeries to close during the protest,” he said.
Prevention is better than cure, said a senior police officer. “To prevent any untoward incidents during such rallies, we approached some shopkeepers and instructed them not to argue with the protesters if they try to create problems. We cannot deploy personnel at every hotel in the city. We want to maintain peace and law & order in the city. So, we have to take such steps.”