Valentine's Week Cheer for Mumbaikars as BMC Rolls Back Timing Order, Restaurants, Bars to Open Till 1am
Restaurants and bars in Mumbai can now operate again till 1am, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced after just 24 hours of restricting eateries to open beyond 11:30pm. The civic body said that they decided to roll back their decision after owners requested and said that the 11:30pm deadline had "no logic".
The BMC had earlier in December 2020 imposed a night curfew in the city, making New Year celebrations a muted affair. The 11:30pm deadline was revised to 1am after two months in February under Maharashtra government's 'Mission Begin Again' a staggered plan to lift coronavirus-enforced curbs. However, the BMC on Friday evening restricted the timing to 11.30pm, only to roll it back the next day.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, Restaurant and bar owners across the city complained that there was a lot of confusion post the BMC move on Friday, despite the state allowing operations till 1am.
The report quoted the statement of the Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI): "Many restaurants expressed discontent over the last-minute notification issued by the BMC, which caused chaos and disruption of last evening’s [Friday] business as well as a lot of confusion. Quite a few restaurants did not receive any official notification, while others complained about having received the notification over WhatsApp and were unsure of its legitimacy. Based on information received from its restaurant members, the HRAWI sought clarification from the BMC and requested for withdrawing the notification with immediate effect."
The rollback may be a relief to hoteliers as the number of customers usually spike during the Valentine's Day week. The social media is also flooded with offers, against which the Mumbai Cyber police had recently warned.
The fake offer link posted to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook is related to avail discount in star hotels and other products for the day. Investigators said expect an in-box littered with offers for deals on chocolates, jewellery, roses and other Valentine's-themed trinkets, but be skeptical unless the offer is from a company you've done business with — and that already has your contact information.
Links within such emails can also unleash malware or lead you to scammer-run copycat websites, a Times of India report stated.