Tourism minister Paul Lyngdoh is no fan of the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner’s order that forces all eateries and other establishments to close by 10pm in Shillong.
Today, the minister informed that he has raised the matter with Home Minister Prestone Tynsong, who has decided to call a high-level meeting to review the matter.
“We expect things to change based on the proceedings of the meeting,” Lyngdoh said.
The order he was referring to was the recent one passed by the DC following a spate of late night incidents of violence in the city committed by unruly, sometimes drunken, groups.
“There is more safety when you have shops and everything is open.” Lyngdoh said. “But when everything is shut, how do you instill a sense of confidence? Stray incidents will always take place, be it even in London or Paris.”
On yesterday’s statement by the DC that normal people are home by 10pm, Lyngdoh retorted by asking how normal and abnormal is defined when in metros people drop in for dinner at midnight. He also said that this would harm local entrepreneurs and tourism.
Concerning the law and order situation, the minister said, “Things have improved tremendously. If you look at the figures of arrests made by police and raids conducted on narcotics, there has been a surge in the number of people being detained.”
The DC’s order does find a supporter in the headman of the Police Bazar area, Devendra Singhania.
He said, during an interaction, that there are few problems with unruly behaviour during weekdays but on weekends, people hang out in their cars in the area, drinking alcohol and playing loud music and this is very difficult for the locality representatives to control.
However, Madras Cafe owner Arun Karthik, whose restaurant is in Police Bazar, said that this order will definitely negatively affect his business since he would otherwise close after 10pm. Tourists who go sightseeing often return late to Shillong and if all restaurants have to shut by 10pm, many would have to go without an evening meal, he opined.
