THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Wayside eateries on the Althara-Vazhuthacaud stretch have been instructed to operate only from 8 pm to 11 pm. According to the city police, the move was taken as part of efforts to decongest the roads.
However, shop owners allege that it is part of an elaborate scheme to help large restaurants in the area. The permitted three hours, they pointed out, is insufficient time to attract customers and register a profit. At present, there are over 20 wayside eateries along the Althara-Vazhuthacaud stretch.
“The 8 pm start time is too late. To register a profit, we need to start early,” said Ratheesh, owner of a Vazhuthacaud eatery. However, officials are not in the mood to relent. “These eateries used to start operations in the evening.
This often resulted in bottlenecks on the road. If a wedding takes place at Sree Mulam Club or Trivandrum Club, there will be traffic snarls. So to avoid this, we have instructed these eateries to open at 8 pm,” Deputy Commissioner of Police V Ajith told TNIE. It was also observed that many criminals used to hang around these eateries at night.
“We instructed these shops to shut at 11 pm as criminals and anti-socials used to hang out at these places. Earlier, we had even instructed the Buhari restaurant to close early as a hacking incident had taken place at Attakulangara junction only a few days ago. There have also been reports of rampant drug sales in the region,” the officer said.
