Allow Bengaluru hotels to remain open 24x7, o: Owners to meet Bommai

BENGALURU: A day after Bengaluru Police Commissioner Pratap Reddy issued a notification allowing restaurants and eateries to be open till 1am, Bengaluru Hotels and Restaurant Owners’ Association has decided to meet Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to extend the timing of operations of hotels. 

They will demand that the hotels be allowed to remain open 24x7 as IT-BT company employees, drivers, those coming back from the airport, railway and bus stations, should not face a problem searching for food at night, said Krishnaraj SP, an executive committee member of the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels and Restaurants Association (BBHA).

There are many people who travel to the outskirts of the city in search of food at midnight, and the demand will be placed before the CM to mitigate their woes, he added. Those working on night shifts do not find places to eat, and so the hotels should be open 24X7 at a few places. The details of hotel timings of other cities including, New Delhi, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu, have been shared, and the government will be asked to implement the same in Bengaluru, he said, adding that since the city police patrolling system is adequate in major junctions, there is no question of safety or chances of crime. Several hotels have CCTV cameras and sufficient staffers to work in three shifts, if the government approves our demand, he said. 

Speaking to TNSE, BB Ashok Kumar, a retired senior police officer said, “It is a good idea to keep hotels open round the clock as city has a floating population. Police officials should be deployed for patrolling on major junctions to prevent crimes. They should not refuse permission by following old rules and regulations”.

Reddy took the decision on Friday after the association complained that police were forcing them to shut down hotels before 11 pm. An order was sent to all police stations asking personnel to follow the order which was issued in 2016 that allowed eateries across the city to operate between 6am and 1pm.