Pubs, restaurants fume over New Year’s Eve curfew in Bengaluru

Police guard the entrance to the BGS flyover near KR Market. It's one of the many flyovers in Bengaluru traffic was banned during New Year's celebrations. DH PHOTO/ANUP RAGH T

There were far more police personnel than New Year revellers on Brigade Road this time around. DH PHOTO/M S MANJUNATH

The government’s belated and exhaustive New Year’s Eve curfew, especially in the Central Business District (CBD), is exacting a heavy financial blow from restaurants, pubs and other places of recreation.

The provisions of the curfew, which were released on December 28, call for a parking and traffic ban in the CBD which has traditionally seen the highest turnout of New Year’s Eve revellers. An 8 pm to 6 am city-wide curfew is also in place. The move will cripple businesses, warned business owners and association leaders.

“The economic ramifications will extend into 2021 because many establishments were counting on the financial boost represented by New Year’s Eve parties and celebrations,” said Amit Ahuja, a restaurateur and pub owner.

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“The announcement of the 8 pm to 6 am curfew is a major blow. We are anticipating an 80% decline in income compared to last year. This loss trickles down to our employees and vendors,” Ahuja added.

Traffic ban anger

Industry members who spoke to DH expressed misgivings about the vehicular traffic ban, which they described as counterproductive. “I understand the government’s intention to limit the spread of Covid-19, but by banning vehicular traffic they are preventing people with reservations or coupons from coming to the CBD,” explained Deepak Batavia of the Church Street Traders’ Association.

It was a concern echoed by Rufqa Hassan, whose family owns The Only Place restaurant on Museum Road. “The government should not have closed off the area to traffic. This not only affects reservations but also home deliveries. Delivery boys cannot come to pick up food,” Rufqa said, adding that the lockdown had also scared off many of her clientele.

“We had many out-of-staters coming in with reservations. Now, they are holed up in their hotels. They are afraid of being caught out after curfew hours and being harassed by police,” she added.

The full weight of cancelled reservations is not yet known, many owners said. However, Pravesh Pandey, the CEO of Byg Brewski, is able to quantify his losses.

“Out of 800 reservations, 400 were cancelled within the span of just a few hours on Thursday. I think most pubs and restaurants were not looking to make a profit with the New Year’s rush but were just trying to earn enough to keep our workers employed, our vendors paid and also to give back to our landlords who have been working with us to keep going, but accepting late-payments and the sort,” Pandey said.

The arbitrary changes to curfew regulations also contribute to food waste, Ahuja added. However, due to the traffic ban in places, some of this excess cannot be collected before it spoils, explains Abishek Singh of the charity Robin Hood Army.