BENGALURU: From now on, hotels and restaurants across the state can open 24x7 in select locations. The long pending proposal which was placed by the hotels and restaurants association was accepted on Wednesday. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Wednesday said hotels and restaurants located in important and select locations — like near bus depots, railway stations, inter-state bus terminals and other spaces — where there is high public movement, can be kept open round the clock. The police will also ensure protection to them through the night.
While members of hotel and restaurant associations have accepted the order and the statement from the minister, they also said that it is not new. They added that they were now awaiting written government orders, which will be circulated to all the commercial establishments to be stuck on their wall for safety reasons.
A member of the hotel association said it was always permitted to keep hotels and restaurants open around such spaces, but they would not be open as there was no police security and permission. But now with the minister’s orders, there will be no problems. The members also demanded that the government also give permission for keeping hotels and restaurants open in areas where there are hospitals, markets and tourism round the clock or at least till 3 am so that there is no inconvenience to the people.
If five-star hotels allowed to stay open all night, why not other eateries: Assn
“If hotels and restaurants are permitted to stay open all night, there will be traffic movement on the city roads, and people will also be moving on the city roads. This would ensure there is less crime. There will also be economic activities. When five-star hotels are permitted to open all night, why are restrictions imposed on other hotels, which are frequented by more people,” said the association member. The members also added that they will give all support to the police and ensure that staff is kept on rotation and no women staff are kept at night for security reasons.