BENGALURU: The hotel owners’ association has warned of legal action against the state government over the issue of being allowed to operate 24×7 in the city.
The hotel owners’ association had sought permission for 24×7 operations in the populated areas of the city, but they have now been allowed to operate till 1 am after the city police gave their consent recently. The hoteliers say the state government did not respond positively to their demand as the police department had expressed concern about the possibility of law and order being jeopardised if hotels were open 24 hours.
Pointing out that hotels are allowed to operate 24×7 in many other states, hotel owners blame the police department for not allowing them to operate all 24 hours.
On its part, however, the police department said that it is only abiding by the government’s decisions.
“Our demand was for 24×7 hotel services. In 2016, hotels was allowed to open until 1 am, but the police would insist that we close by 10 pm and food would go waste. Earlier this year, the same rules are reintroduced. In other states and cities like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi, hotels can function 24×7. People who work at night do not get food after sometime. We urge the government to give us permission as an essential services. The concern is not about business, but about helping people, “said a hotel owner.
“In 2016, an order was issued allowing hotel services till 1 am. The government has just reissued the same order now. Our demand is to be given permission to operate the services 24×7. In our state, the police department is not responding positively. We appealed to the government and presented all the details. We will wait for another week. If they do not respond, we will go for a legal battle,” said P C Rao, president of the hotel owners’ association.